The Details are Sketchy, Number 1

I turned on Caring is Creepy by the Shins today, as I sat down to work on my late paper, and I was immediately brought back to a moment in what must have been early October. The details are sketchy, but I remember green grass, warm sunshine and a spring in my step. Everything was new, I was still in Section 1 of FYP, I felt weightless. The winter has been dreary and often depressing, with many ups and downs and drama, but we’re coming out the other side. Caring is Creepy reminded of that.

What also reminded me was the incredible day yesterday was. I was (I’m pretty sure) still drunk, or very very hungover, all afternoon, and so gave up working on my paper all together. I wandered out of lunch and realized that it was a freakin’ gorgeous day. The sun was shining, I didn’t need a jacket and everything was dry. There was something in the air, a spark. A group of my friends were sitting on the library steps painting and tanning in the sun. By the time I went inside to fetch my books, more people had gathered, including Ben Caplan, of Ben Caplan and the Casual Smokers, a great band from King’s. Soon the library steps filled with a huge group of students painting and writing and drawing and playing with soccer balls and Nerf guns and playing music – oh my God, the music was incredible. Everyone kept looking at one another and saying “We go to the best school ever”. I took some pictures that I’m pretty proud of and made a pastel sketch of Ben that he wants to use for a poster for his band. I breathed in an out and soaked in the sun and let the world spin slightly around me. Spring had completely sprung.

Today, it’s snowing and there’s slush everywhere. Saturday was like this distant dream we all had together. But soon the winter will be over, and we’ll come out the other side. I can see, smell, feel it coming; just the details are sketchy.