At the end of this past semester I had my entire summer mapped out. There was no doubt in my mind that I would live in Huntsville, star gaze from my porch, play open-mic nite every Tuesday, and travel out of the country.
None of this happened. I moved back to Houston, didn’t play a show the entire summer, and the closest I got to Barcelona was my friend’s new apartment which is ironically named “Barcelona.” To sum up the summer I attended two more funerals than I ever cared to, slept on one mattress I never wish to see again, and worked zero jobs that I never applied for. I ventured to Virginia to visit my grandma who was hospitalized and ended up meeting at least 50 cousins and one of them tried to get me to sell “powder.”
The only thing that was held constant in a summer of growth, besides my church attendance, was the special time in August. I knew that I would be back in Huntsville; the most unsavory place I know. We may not have as many clubs as college station but for a prison city we get along well.
In this town, visits to Wal-Mart are as popular if not more than going to the Fox or “Shenasties,” and I figured that being back at home would give me more to do. I was sorely mistaken as I found myself in every Wal-Mart along the east coast. I didn’t even have a reason to be at the Wal-Marts, but the twilight hours in Huntsville have programmed me to walk off all of my energy as I read the nutrition-facts for ‘cheez its.’ They are the best snacks ever. So cheesy.
I missed that eerie feeling of the night before the start of a new semester. The anticipation of new people and new classes is something that I’ve grown to crave with age.
When I was a child it was all about how my new backpack would measure up to the other kids’. It was an insult to honor if some kid would have the 24-pack of color pencils and I only have the 12. Now, I am more concerned about what ladies are going to be in my class and if the teachers take off points for attendance.
I thought of the reasons why I could care for Huntsville so much and concluded that it wasn’t the attractions, but the atmosphere that is so appealing. Whenever I pass Big Sam Houston on I-45, I smile and relief runs through my veins. I feel like I have arrived. The combination of the landscape and the people you meet make Huntsville a pleasant place to be. This school is big enough to be prestigious and small enough to be intimate. You can escape into an organic environment or immerse yourself into the social network.
If you’re new here, you made a good choice; and once you get over looking lost on campus you’ll fit right in. And if you’re one of those older “kats” like me that has learned a few steps then lets do it again. How about a quarter night anyone? Want to come over and watch Pride and Prejudice?
Whoever you are its good to have you here. Smile a lot, shake some hands, throw some high fives, because we’re all in this unsavory city together.