I decided to take a special route in to the law school on the day of my last exam. As I made my way down the filthy alleyway that I had walked maybe a dozen times before - usually when I was running late for class - two thoughts crossed my mind. The first was how quickly time truly passes. I could remember every time that I had hit a turning point in my life, like entering high school or college, and remember each time feeling as though I had all the time in the world. Like I would be a different person, in a whole different life, by the time I moved on to whatever was next. And now I was walking down a short road to the last test I would ever take. It didn't feel real, and in many ways still doesn't. But it is. And this time, I truly don't know what's coming next...

The second thought that crossed my mind was how strangely attached one can become to the environment in which one spends a sizable, and very special, part of one's life. No disrespect, but these aren't exactly the parts of town you'd see on a post card. As in, that dumpster right there is spray-tagged "FAT GAY RAY", which just happens to be one of the least offensive tags on anything in the alley. As in dried vomit and broken glass visible just about anywhere you look on the ground. No birds up in the power lines, just dangling sneakers. And that white brick building right there? That's where some college kids came back from spring break to find their kitchen window smashed in and a dead crackhead on the floor of their apartment (true story)... And yet despite all of that stuff, I am going to miss this place so deeply that I can hardly even bear to think about it.

Surprisingly strong feelings were aroused in me during that last walk in. I can only hope and trust that the next place I land will come to feel so much like home.