Weekend in Portland

May 23, 2010 - 1:08 PM

We are three weeks away from graduating, and life is getting interesting.

Jessica and I, on a whim, decided to go up to Portland this weekend to see our friends and my family. Usually, when I go home, I immediately go to my dad's house, plop myself in front of our enormous TV with Collin, and relax all weekend.

But this weekend was different. My friends, whose families do not live in Portland, made plans for us and expected me to come along-all weekend.

So Friday and Saturday night were filled with cross-Portland bar-hopping and late-night clubbing.
During the daylight hours, we went out to Wilsonville, where Jessica's horse is stabled. We rode horses, and after that, we went to a chick-flick.

It wasn't until Saturday night, after bar-hopping, that I was able to tear myself away from my friends and their boyfriends to get home to see my daddy.

It was strange. And although I knew my dad would say that it was okay because I am getting older-I knew in my heart of hearts, that I would have been home with him just like always had my friends not made those plans for us. I still don't think that I have outgrown spending three days with my dad.

However, I did catch myself in a moment of maturity while looking out the window of Jake's Crawfish. We were finishing our happy hour dinners and trying to decide which move to make next. I looked at the cars parked outside-all very nice, new, vanity-plated models-and I realized the kind of town I come from, and that I would soon be moving on to a place I had never lived before. It struck me that I would no longer be living in the comfortable confines of the Willamette and Columbia rivers.

I realized all I had learned about living in today's day and age. I considered what I knew about the people who drive those cars, which may not be very much, but at least a few things I could determine: I could consider the types of schools their children attended, the kinds of weekend activities their families engaged in, and the lifestyle that they live as wealthy people living in Portland.

I related these bits of knowledge to the knowledge I had acquired about the world beyond the great northwest. I thought about the kinds of colleges rich kids go to, the kinds of activities that the more affluent populations participate in, and the kind of lifestyles most people dream of living-all the while considering the implications of money and power.

I realized that I was moving on in the world, maybe on to bigger, more monied things, or maybe on to harder times. Either way, I had been exposed to many facets of life both in and outside of Portland, and I felt prepared to go off to Stanford. To go off to seek a job outside of the northwest. To search the world for answers to the questions I have about the stereotypes and generalizations I was taught to believe.

It was a blip of time before I was drawn back in to the conversation about where we were headed next on our night's "barinerary," but I felt a warm feeling of readiness to tackle the exciting path that lies before me.

That night, I went back to my dad's house without my friends. They ended up in friends' houses around the city, but I was content to go home. I've found myself in a place where I am comfortable wherever I am. I love being home with my dad, but at the same time, I know I am ready to be elsewhere as well.

I guess I am right where I am supposed to be as a graduating senior.