A Letter To My Younger Self

I was reminded of you recently, you were an asshole, hell I still am in some ways. But recently, I listened to music I hadn't heard since you were around. It was the soundtrack to Into The Wild. All Eddie Vedder. Remember how our Roommate would play it almost to the point of exhaustion? Like that one Lord of the Rings scene we caught him watching over and over? But hearing that music. I was back in the freshman dorm room. Heartbroken, embracing my pseudo-independence from my parents who were paying for that expensive tuition. Going crazy with a new social life at our first co-ed school in about 6 years. Having classmates we actually enjoyed being around after the social oblivion that was high school. We tried dating, we fucked it up, casual hook ups, drinking, diner runs and walks through woods. This was the best entire year of my life, and while the me you were then might not have deserved it as much as I might now, you needed it more. Your fuck ups and friendships and amazing memories have made me into who I am. And hearing Hard Sun and Rise Up made me miss all that in a way I've never felt nostalgia before. I wanted that heart-ache from being just out of our best relationship to date, to have so much still ahead of me, leaving hte country alone for the first time, being an almost real adult. Which is not to say I'm at the end of my line, no, we still have so much ahead of us at the ripe age of twenty-five don't worry. But I miss having that restless, unrealized, unbridled potential that came with adolescence. Pretty soon you'll go to England for the first time, it'll be your first time off the continent and you'll have a great time. Romance will come and go, and you will drop out of school for a while, travel more, and have a really hard time for a while. And I appreciate you doing all that, because it has made my life into the wonderful thing it is today even with all the little struggles I am still dealing with. I can handle them with ease thanks to you. And I hope to see you again soon.
-J. Moran
Have any travel stories about amazing people you've met or places you've been to even if it is as close as your own city feel free to email them to thegettingthere@gmail.com I am accepting all submissions.