Today I came home from Austin, and I totally didn't want to leave. I was legitimately sad to wake up in the morning to a quiet campus, a rapidly-emptying dorm, and the end of half of my college career. By the time I left at 2:00, all that remained were ghosts of the previous two years of my existence. There is no evidence that every weekend, my basement lounge played host to heated 8v8 Halo games, no evidence of all the friends who visited my place, no evidence of Tim's residence, no evidence of any of my 4 other awesome suitemates. Maybe I was swayed a little bit by the 'last hurrah' day that went down yesterday with those who remained (myself, Adam, Patrick and his gf Renee). To blatantly steal the entry from Adam's Xanga, because he expressed it flawlessly:Then, Sally [our name for Patrick], Renee, Blake, and I headed to Zilker Park. I have a new respect for Austin. It was gorgeous between 4:30 and 6, and the view of downtown Austin from Zilker Park is no less than spectacular. I haven't been out in the open in such beauty in as long as I can remember. We played frisbee for about an hour and a half, laughed, and had a genuinely amazing time. I missed Amanda and Mikey, but the four of us just had a blast. It's so beautiful from there. It made me realize how little I'd been outside in the past few years.From there, we headed to the Uptown Enchilada Bar which, from my understanding, is no more. That was sad. After a brief sidetrack, we ended up at the Logan's down in South Austin. While it was easily the weakest Logan's experience I've ever had, it was still some damn good food. Blake and I had the privatize schools debate with Patrick. I believe it's a good idea from our Ivory Tower, but none of Patrick's explanations seem to assume the fact that 90% of America cares less about education than our families do. Then, we came back to Blanton (circa 8pm) and had some lovely Jack and Coke/Rum and Vanilla Coke along with Cowboy Bebop, Family Guy, and the Blue Collar Comedy Tour. We learned a lot about Renee's past. Blake and I also gave her the official Adam Seal of Approval, because we love her and she's good to us and to Sally. We all had a goddamn blast. It was the best end to any semeste I've had in 15 years of education. The day was perfect, the people were perfect, the atmosphere was perfect, and the food and drink(s) were perfect. These are some of the greatest friends I have ever had, have, and could ever hope to have (there are some other great friends out there, don't worry. Just because you weren't here doesn't mean you aren't incredibly important to me).Everyone's gone now. It was amazing. I love my life. It's a beautiful life. I'm so happy. I love Amanda, and while I'm going to miss my college friends dearly, I'm going to enjoy a mentally relaxing summer and some time with my parents, who love me more than anything and have done an amazing job of raising me. I'm a fucking douche for all the things I did to them in high school. When I look back, there's nothing better that they could have done. I wish I had done "better" by them, although I'm not sure I would find myself anywhere other than a top 5 school in the country. I really wish I'd expressed my gratitude before I turned 19/20. It's painfully sad that the only times I didn't fight with my mother on goddamn Mother's Day in recent years have been the past two years. I love my mother. She's wonderful, and while we may have had our differences (being the two most vocal people in the household), she did everything she could have and I now understand that I couldn't have asked for better. My dad is a wonderful human being and all of my friends (and I) admire him for being such a Southern Gentleman. I'm so lucky to have such parents who have cared about me. Mom, Dad...I'm sorry for the things I may have done. I knew not what I did.It's been a beautiful day, filled with beautiful events, beautiful people, and beautiful stories. I sit here, halfway done with my undergraduate college career, and I couldn't ask for more. I have been blessed with great friends, a great school, and a great life. The Nexus [Adam's room, our social hub] is disbanded, but it will never be forgotten.Everyone, it's been a great semester/year/two years. I love you all, however frequently or infrequently you've crossed my path. All of you know who you are (at least inside), and I thank you for everything you've done/said/been. I will never forget you.Adam puts it flawlessly. The time we all spent together at Zilker Park was truly an artistic moment. It felt as though there were a camera somewhere, filming us together for some Hollywood heart-wrenching coming-of-age story. And it's things like that that make me cringe at the idea that the window for these moments is open only two more years - and the first two went by in a flash. For right now, I don't feel so depressed, because I've had a good day today. But even if it's only for 3 months, I hate saying goodbye to anything - whether it's random acquaintances in the dorms, the dorms themselves, or my best friends. I'm never good at it and I think I never will be.