I had about an hour layover today in Las Vegas, and as I was weaving through the slot machines and all the “vendors”, I knew I wanted to get to my gate quickly. My next flight was all the way into Birmingham, and so I knew the “Y’alls” and other southernisms were on their way. There aren’t too many people that fly through Birmingham, Alabama to make a connection, and my suspicions were confirmed when I sat down at the gate.
Within two minutes of me sitting down, the girl across from me, Darby, pulled out her cell phone displaying her Auburn logo proudly on the back. About that time, the lady next to her pulled out her baby wipes for her son, and the package displayed the all too familiar hounds tooth pattern with that big red A. I just smiled to myself and waited for World War III to blow up, but surprisingly the display of school pride struck up a rather civil conversation. There will always be witty banter that starts these conversations between sworn rivals, but I always enjoy seeing people that can still enjoy each other’s company despite the colors they’re wearing. The girls caught me playing with the little boy (I’m sorry, I can’t help, kids are so easy to play with), so they invited me into the conversation. I was more or less an innocent bystander.
The girls bonded over the fact that Darby was heading home to be with her sister for her first baby. Since Darby was still in the beginning stages of her career, she made it very evident that she wasn’t looking to trade places with her sister anytime soon. The girls talked a little more about how they go home every year and run into the same people, and they know just where to find them. This is where they added me a little more into the conversation. I thought about how my circle of friends and list of people to visit was getting smaller with each trip home. Sure, there are a few people that will never leave that list and make the trip to Alabama worth it, but it’s funny how things change (or don’t) the longer you’re removed from an environment.
Darby and I were able to bond over a couple of “those friends”. You know the ones that wrote, “Stay cool and never change” in your yearbook, and then ended up keeping half of that promise themselves. I have a few friends that I know exactly where to find them. To use a quick analogy, the verse my be different, but the chorus is still the same, and we always end up back at the chorus. Don’t get me wrong, change for the sake of change is a dangerous drug that is highly addictive, but I’ve never understood how some people can hit the same ceiling over and over, but still continue to stay in the same place. I asked Darby if she ever saw herself like that, and her confidence quickly took over as she made some more jokes about her friends.
Staying in Alabama isn’t a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, there’s a lot of stuff happening here that I take a ton of pride in, and there’s a ton of people doing some really exciting things. However, for me and my dreams, I know I can’t stay here for now. I feel like there are a lot of people here that think that as well, but they’ll still never leave the South for more than just a vacation. This place is nice. It’s comfortable. It’s familiar. It’s peaceful at times. The bad part about those things, is that with that type of environment, it’s really easy for dreams to stay in your head. You don’t have to leave the South to realize your dream, you just need to take the risk of being a little uncomfortable and reaching for what’s unknown. Today I realized that I don’t like joking about my friends that never change. In fact, I kind of just want to take them to lunch and get Greek food or even Thai…
