An Autumn Tradition

My senior year in college was rough, as had been my Freshman and Junior year (I skipped Sophmore year..well, I combined it with Junior year). The first few weeks of September seemed tortuously long and depressing. So, I did what I usual did in Oklahoma ... hung out at Walmart late at night browsing whatever and dreaming about my future. Don't judge me, seriously there's nothing you couldn't buy at Walmart--everyone buys everything there, groceries, duct tape, camisoles... you name it. And, it's open 24 hours. Sure someone's dead body was dumped there at Thanksgiving and I encountered stalkers #4, 6 and 7, but it's open.

So, one night in early autumn I was taking refuge in Walmart after a particularly trying week. I decided to buy a CD - very rare as sometimes I couldn't buy food, so purchasing anything over 3 dollars was an investment. Skimming the choices I ran across a discount CD of an "emerging artist" virtually unknown who had done well for himself in NY. The CD was $10 and the dude on the front was cute and the cover looked artistic so I bought it. I loved it. I spent the autumn and early winter walking to class listening to album. Okay, some of the stuff was cheesey...whatever. Then, to my horror, a new WB show debuted featuring one of the songs on the album..."One Tree Hill" stole Gavin DeGraw from obscurity. Well, I don't know, perhaps his music video on MTV did. But I still really like his album and I relate it to that year.

Last year Kyle gave me tickets to see GDG at the House of Blues in Anaheim (what a nice gift!) and his concert was fantastic! That was July 4 and that fall, I whipped out his CD and listened to it for a few great months, sharing it with my new boyfriend Brendon.

Yesterday was the first day of autumn. Today, the only CD at work is GDG...by accident! However his voice and those particular songs conjure sights, smells, and feelings of autumn. Gavin De Graw is my fall tradition. It's funny (and you'll think I'm stupid, I do) but tears start flowing when I listen, the feelings of bitterness, emptiness, lonliness that I experienced my senior year come right back to me. I don't regret that year, in fact it was a very important year and I learned a lot and a lot of good things happened (I met and forged a lasting friendship with Delores :). But it was hard, and I was sad.

Here's to tradition! Autumn, as always, holds a freshness, a new beginning for me, an excitement about the coming holidays that I get to spend with my friends, the people I love...So, as Gavin put's it, "Oh, this is the start of something good - don't you agree?"