Every once in a while I like to search up people who used to be in my life.

I’m sure most people have done the same with old classmates from their university days, to perhaps even as far back as primary school. I tend to go one step further though. Teachers I had one class with long ago, my old suitemates in university, TAs whom I’ve had varying levels of familiarity with, people I paired up with for group projects, that one guy I met at a house party once and never saw again… Call it too much free time, being nosy, or whatever else, but I get really curious!

Wow, Anna's working in theater now. I never knew she was a creative. John is over in South Korea, while Kristy is in Canada. I wonder how they ended up there. Henry is bald?! That caught me off guard. Kat is a professor now. They radiated professor energy even as a grad student. Jason was always a jokester with us but he looks like a real serious and important person these days. I'll keep those times between us :)

And so on… as I rummage through the seldomly visited corners of my brain for more names.

Everyone is so diverse in what they’ve become, admirably trying to work things out on their own life path. I’d love to relive those memories we shared together, even if just once.

I’m a fairly transient person, moving every few years for newer pastures. Few people stick around long, many come and go. Sometimes I envy those who stay and build roots, for the deep history they hold between themselves and their community.

Nevertheless, I appreciate each and every one of you, regardless of how brief our connection may have been. Those tranquil moments of coexistence mean a lot to me. Perhaps we will run into each other again in some unexpected place. Perhaps not. Thank you for showing up in my life regardless.