I’ve been distracted from living.

I’ve been caught up in the GPA’s

and concert band seatings,

in colleges

and homework.

And the things I’ve been missing out on?

They’re things I can’t get back.

I’ve forgotten about dreaming,

about wanting to wake up in a different city every night.

I’ve only now remembered

the feeling of foreheads touching,

eyes so close to my own that they blur

and all I can see is the dark brown of an iris.

I’ve forgotten the feeling in the pit of your stomach after finishing a good movie,

the laughing too hard and too loudly.

The total silence of being submerged,

the stinging of water against opened eyes.

I forgot about hours spent on a field of dirt clods,

about sweat dripping down your face,

the smile of a friend.

And the music.

I’ve lost sight of the music while immersed in the note values.

So call this what you will.

An epiphany.

A reminder of something forgotten.

Maybe even a yearning for a childhood to return.

But I’ll always think of it as a checklist,

because this is what it takes to be really living.