Waiting for my real life...

I first heard this song last year, and was immediately drawn to it. Perhaps it was my emotional state at the time. I’d been in Wyoming for over a year and was beginning to really acclimate to my environment – meeting new friends, establishing new relationships but also looking forward to the next step in my career. Work was stressful as ever, but I was happy, excited about what was on the horizon in my personal and professional life.

I started listening to this song again the week before I left Wyoming. This time around, it was my move that was stressful, but I was happy…and sad. Suffice to say, it was on repeat on my iPod.

The song popped up again, this time on the night before my 16-hour drive back to San Francisco. My friend and I had been sitting in his car for hours talking and listening to music. I found this song on his iPod. We sat there, silent, listening to the song. I assessed my life from the moment I first heard Colin Hay’s song to the present, and knew much had changed. I was moving and saying good-bye to Casper, to my friends. My “wait for my real life to begin” was coming to an end.

During my stay in Wyoming, I met people from other states who said living in Wyoming was like living on another planet, that their lives were put on hold. For me, my 2.5-plus years in Casper weren’t inconsequential. I experienced some real living and emotions –intimacy, elation, hurt – in Wyoming. I never put my life on hold. I may wait for the next chapter in my life, but I’ve waited all my life – and will wait – for my real life to continue: Real life, parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, ad infinitum.