JoyBox

I surprised Katie with tickets to JoyBox. We already had tickets to Immerse (more on that at a later date) and although JoyBox tickets were offered at the same time there wasn't any information about it so we declined. Then I started to see more and more posted about it so I was like "date night!". We had the whole place almost to ourselves. There were maybe only two other groups wandering around the same time we were which made it that much more enjoyable. 

Each installation was more than just a fun photo-op. They all had prompts. I took photos of a couple (see below) to get an idea of what I mean. The shredded paper floor had you write down a worry on neon paper and then you got to stick it in a shredder while it went onto the floor in pieces. There was a room full of scrolling signs that you could text a message to and it would scroll by in front of you. There was a wall that read "The Best Is Yet To Come" where the prompt was to write down your hope for the future on a round sticker that went onto the wall with hundreds of others. Some serious, some hilarious.

My absolute favorite one was the "classroom". There were high school style desks set up like a real classroom. A supercut of my teenage years flashed before me as I slid into the desk and set my bag on the ground just like I used to. I'm not one of those people who are all "High School was the best years of my life!" but I do have (mostly) fond memories. I'm certainly not too cool to look back on that time of my life and reflect on what was, could have been, and never was in the cards. I probably look back too often on parts of my life. I'm working on being more present but there is something in me that is so goddamn nostalgic. Maybe it's just being a millennial. 

It was fun to sit in a school setting with Katie again. No, we never went to the same high school (oh the fun we would've had!) but we did meet in college, in chairs just like that, 17 years ago. We sat next to each other as we both followed the prompt to write our future selves a letter (that will supposedly be mailed to us at a later date). There was a mail slot and everything. 

Snail mail! Nostalgia! Writing about my feelings and hopes! It was so *ME*. I even tried to put my own stamp on the envelope but realized my stamps were in my big wallet that I left at home. I still hope we really do receive those letters sometime. 

The entire experience was interactively therapeutic on it's own but during the entire thing I felt the bond between Katie and I get even stronger. There were deep cuts. We sat crooked and talked straight. 

And I know we'll love each other through every success and every fumble. Life is just one beautiful mess and I'm so glad we get to be by one another's side for the pretty parts and the complicated ones too.