Something to Look Forward To
A reunion with a high school friend
Hey friend,
I’ve just come back from an after-dinner smoothie with my high school friend, Armita. “I would think about you all the time,” she tells me.
The feeling was mutual. I wondered what she was up to.
“At the core, I’m the same,” I say.
The first time I remember speaking to Armita was on the bus home from sixth grade. She was talkative. I was quiet. I’m sure that’s what attracted me to her.
We worked together on projects throughout high school. In French class specifically, but the last time I saw her was at least eight years ago. Maybe six if I subtract the two years we lost due to the pandemic.
I looked forward to our meeting since we set the date. An aspect of memory that Steve Joordens, a University of Toronto Psychology Professor describes as healthy.
In our recent conversation, he gave me an example. “When we shop online, dopamine, our happiness hormone is released while we’re shopping and as we look forward to receiving our purchase,” says Steve.
“So if I like browsing for shoes online without buying, I should keep doing it?” I ask.
“If it makes you happy then yes,” he says.
I once heard that when we travel we take three trips. The anticipation, the actual trip, and the adventure we remember. From personal experience, it’s important to have something to look forward to and I think that thing could be time with people who we care about.
Armita reminded me that in high school, we would come home from school and talk to whoever was active online on Facebook.
“You're right. I forgot about that,” I tell her.
It’s so funny to me now that we would run home and exchange messages with whoever was willing to chat. It’s that child-like carelessness that benefits many of our conversations.
Love,
Miriam
In case you missed it…
Prompt for the month:
Reach out to an old friend. Preferably someone you haven’t spoken to in the last few years. Invite them out for coffee, write them an email, send them a text—complete the prompt in a way that suits your lifestyle.