The “Tranquilo” Vitamin Water I just consumed had a very unique and ironic message written on the back of it. It asked, “is it just us, or are long walks on the beach a little overrated?” It then goes on to argue that you should drink a vitamin water whenever you get the urge to walk on the beach claiming that you wont get sand in your “undies.” It also claims that the vitamins in the water (a clever mixture of vitamins a, c and e vitamins that they wittily combine to make the “a-c-e” vitamin) will make you happy! The only thing about the drink that would make me happier is the great flavor. Basically vitamin water is discouraging a proactive lifestyle and is claiming to be an antidepressant. Great. It is very ironic and obnoxious Vitamin Water claims to be more legitimate than walks on the beach when really all it is is a glorified, more expensive Gatorade. But hey they have to spend the extra money on people to write sly anecdotes and come up with appealing names for all of the different flavors.
This brings me to my main point of irony and its ties to my thanksgiving break. Every last senior in Asheville (including myself) consistently talked about how ready they were to “get out of town.” Everyone wanted to move on and was bored with their hometown and their homes in general. After a very short break everyone is talking about how much they miss their mountains. After less than a semester away from home everyone realized how privileged we were to have such a tight group of friends and such a naturally fun place. There is something about the mountains that is just majestic.
After having what was advertised to be a bonfire (in reality it was a gas fire on my friends porch, what a scam) at my friend’s house on a mountain that offers a view of the majority of Asheville, we all realized what we had. In addition to a great town and a solid set of friends we had people who were willing to do our own laundry for us! I forgot that anyone would ever want to do this after a semester of doing it by myself. We also all had our own rooms and bathrooms for the most part.
While I am eager to return to school and face the reality of doing work and exams, I can’t help but miss the mountain town of Asheville that I call my home. This is very ironic considering how ready I was to leave. While this has little to do with my rant about Vitamin Water (which, by the way is delicious) it is similar in its irony.
I really don't think Vitamin Water is all that great, and I'm pretty sure I read that it was kind of bad for you. Anyway, I guess I kind of miss before college-life too. For one thing, I'm really not looking forward to exams- I have two next week and then another the next. True, only having 3 exams is pretty great, but not as great as having 0 (which is what I managed to get by with my entire senior year!). I also miss having a car, going to the mall, my mom's restaurant, knowing everyone in town, and not having to use cross-walks to cross the street. I miss that when I get frustrated there is about an hour-long loop of country roads that I can take to calm myself down. I also miss the dock at the river that I would go sit on when I just needed to be alone. I keep waiting to find "my place" at UNC. You know, that place that you can go to chill out and feel relaxed. It seems like this place is so fast-paced, and that's a big change for this small-town southern girl.
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