Walking down memory lane
Looking at printed pictures that you have, scrolling through your gallery of pictures or flipping through a souvenir or magazine, helps you reminisce some of the beautiful memories that you would remember for the rest of your life. You come across weird and comical pictures that you don’t even remember taking most of the time. Those weird looking photos back from school or photos of the good times you have through the journey of life is a constant reminder that life has been good.
Looking through those pictures, especially ones taken during the time we were schooling, the fun times just wash over you leaving tears in your eyes most of the time, wondering if you could just rewind time and go back to those good old care free days that we had most fun. The only way you could relive those moments now is either through reminiscing or through these pictures that you have which sadly is a bleak memory.
Remember, that first day of school where you stepped in to the unknown with your parents by your side not knowing what you were supposed to expect? Remember, how you wanted to run back home and not go back to that place? That’s where the memories that you cling on to now, first started piling up, isn’t it my friend? The smiles and the heart breaks, that’s where it all began.
Walk back to your first class trip. You may have been six or seven years old. The school doesn’t really take you on an adventurous trip like in the upper classes, but remember that giddy feeling, where you were so excited piling food to share with your other friends and how you didn’t fall asleep the night before. It was just a trip to the Dehiwala zoo most probably. But, that excitement was well beyond control. Starting there on, I’m sure you looked forward to every class trip with your batch mates with the same rollercoaster of feelings felt the day before you went. From the mediocre trips to the cool trips in the upper classes, ranging from the Dehiwala zoo to the scout camps and bonfires, those one day trips out of Colombo, the choir trips and the camps during post o/l time, the prefects camp, to the cool trip with you’re a/l classmates, ah life was so good wasn’t it? Those specific baila songs you sing on the bus and the drumming using the empty water bottles and the cool snacks you share, these keep ringing in your head and you can remember all of it with a blink of the eye. Yeah, I know you wish you could go back in time with the memories of your class trips because frankly I do to.
Remember, the mischief and chaos you created as a student. How everyone used to play paper cricket with a book or scream while playing charades, hang- man or secret passing and how unexpectedly the Principal or Vice Principal just walk in to the class and you end up kneeling down the corridor or end-up standing outside the class or on the basketball court. Remember, how you used hope the teacher is absent so you could have fun? How many times have you eaten in secrecy, exchanging and hiding lunch boxes in the locker with the teacher being unaware or been pulled up by the teacher while doing so and gotten punished? Remember, the long lines at the canteens and how everyone used to smash each other trying to buy food?
Remember, the big match season? Then those animated discussions about your first crush and how you saw the person and all that and then the continuous updates your friends look forward to? Remember, those big philosophical discussions that were carried out by our very own friends? Yes, there may have been a few heartbreaks because of friendship and all that, but it’s all worth it, isn’t it? Well, what about the cool children’s day celebrations, the dancing and the free ice cream you get. Those class parties and screaming of “last day last shot” before getting vacation at the end of the term. And all those sports competitions and other extra- curricular activities you used participate in. Remember, your buddies in the school van or those people you used to go for classes with after school? Yeah buddy, life was good and I’m sure you are most certainly smiling while reading this, because “THIS MY FRIEND WAS THE BEST TIME EVER.”
If I continue, the list would go on and on and on. It’s never ending. Some of the mischief can’t even be mentioned here, because well I don’t know … Sometimes you just wish you could rewind the reel and go back to those days. Sometimes, we wish we could where the school uniform all over again to just to relive these times. Yes, studying was annoying, boring and all that, but weren’t these the boosters that pushed us to go to school almost every single day? How beautiful and carefree those days were? How fun were those days. Look at the amount of memories that the journey holds. It’s unfathomable and beautiful, come to think of it.
This journey pushed us to a different life in the end. Today most of us are either at University or any higher education institute or even doing good occupations and still collecting buckets full of memories. So many smiles and so many heartbreaks. It’s not as care-free but everything has a positive side to it and so much to look forward to. We are still collecting memories right? Yes, we certainly are.
When you are constantly running in life, stop back and look back at these good times. You have had a good life my friend. You still have a chance to live it to your fullest. Life was good, it still is and always will be despite all the odds. Wow, look at where these simple photographs have taken me. I’m going to stop. But, I hope I made you smile.
Cheers!
