Leaving

I laid in my bedroom, staring up at the ceiling, thinking about how I hadn’t started packing yet. My empty suitcase sat on my bedroom floor waiting for me to pick it up. All my posters that had been previously hung on the wall, sat on my desk, rolled up. The day was almost over, as the last rays of sun shone through my window. I could hear my mom making dinner downstairs, yelling at my brother to help her with the food. My mind wandered to how campus life would be without my mom’s food and my brother always pestering me with questions. I would be alone in a dorm, with someone completely new. 

“Oliver!” my mom yelled, calling me downstairs. I grabbed my phone before going down the stairs to see my mom and brother already sitting at the dinner table. I sat down, and began to eat, trying to block out the sound of my brother asking my mom questions. I finished quickly and set my plate in the dishwasher. I had to begin to pack my clothes. A cold gust of air swept my hair off my face as I began to take all my clothes out of my closet. I stared at the pictures on my wall, knowing that I would never get to relive these memories again. I sat on the floor staring at my empty suitcase. I did not feel like packing anything today. I decided I would start tomorrow. I layed on my bed and slowly drifted off to sleep. In my dream I saw a small butterfly that had landed on my hand. It had a very unique design with different colors: blue, purple, and pink. I had never seen a butterfly this beautiful. It stayed there for a while and then it flew away. In the dream, I wished that the butterfly would stay since I had never seen a butterfly like this, but I remembered that it had a life; I had to let it go.

The sound of birds chirping in the early hours of the morning awoke me. I opened my eyes and remembered the mess I had left on the floor from last night. My clothes were all over the floor and my suitcase was still empty. None of my family members were awake, so I decided to take advantage and start packing so I wouldn’t have to do it later. I stuffed most of my closet in the suitcase trying to rush because I didn’t want to pack. The clock now read 9:30, and I could hear my mom downstairs making breakfast. The sizzle of the bacon sifted through the house, and the delicious smell of the maple syrup on the pancake wavered through the air. I decided to go downstairs to see if my last breakfast was ready. My mom was making pancakes, my favorite. I sat down and quickly ate my food so I could get back to packing and taking down all the posters on my wall. My brother would get to move into my room, which was bigger than his. 

I took down all my posters and rolled them up so they could fit in my suitcase. Everything seemed to fit, I just had to fit my books in there too. I was really nervous to be living in the dorms at a new school and with new people. None of my friends had gotten into UCLA so I would be on my own. I checked the time. 2:45. I couldn't believe how fast time had flown by. Tomorrow I would have to get ready to leave for my new school early in the morning. There was still one thing I wanted to do before I left: go to the park once more. I packed a blanket and some snacks before getting in my car and drove to the park. When I got there, there was barely anyone there since everyone was more worried about back to school shopping and some had even started school. I laid the blanket under a shady spot and sat there staring at the sky. The sun was starting to set, and I sat there peacefully looking at the sunset. I would miss this town because there was no other place like home. I had been living here since I was born and I would have to leave for college. I packed up my blanket and drove home. Before I got inside my house, I could hear my brother upstairs looking at my room and jumping up and down, finally getting to have a big room. Smiling to myself, I I thought about how I would miss my house and all the commotion that always happened in it. I went upstairs and picked up the last of my bags, and brought them downstairs. My mom watched me, tearing up, knowing that her baby boy had finally grown up and was off to college. That night, I ate dinner quickly and decided to go to sleep early since I would be waking up at 4:00 a.m. to start driving to UCLA. I thought I wouldn’t be able to go to sleep from being so nervous, but I managed to fall asleep quickly. Before I knew it, it was time to wake up. My mom and brother came to wake me up and I showered and changed before it was time to say our goodbyes. I could tell my brother was excited to start moving into his new room yet sad I would be leaving. My mom began to cry as she hugged me for one last time. I hugged my brother. 

“Don’t cause too much trouble around here.” I told him and he gave me a reassuring smile. I threw my luggage into my car and shut the door. Tears were flowing out of my mom's eyes like a waterfall. I waved goodbye to them one last time before starting my car and taking off. This is where my college life would begin.