Remember the Lights

It was my very first game on the UF sidelines, and there I was during pre-game, standing on the 50 yard line in the Swamp. It was during the National Anthem that I looked to my right to my dear friend who I tried out with. We locked eyes as if to say, "Yup. We're really here."

I looked up at the 90 000 people around me, then scanned over the words "Florida Field" directly in front of me, written below the lights.

The lights.

These lights would come to mean so much.  Every game that followed, that was my moment, during the National Anthem. It was my moment to take it all in. These moments I had on the field with my team mates (who would go on to become my best friends)-- I knew they were fleeting. I knew that one day this would all have to end.

Four years since all of that has ended, I still try to remember how it felt to be under those lights. To work so hard and to experience something so special...

We all owe it to ourselves to take a second and revel in where we are and how far we've come.

So everyday, I've found my moment. I walk past the Empire State Building to and from work, and just glance up. Seconds, literally. No, I'm not in that stadium anymore. It's a different set of lights that brings me to a place of both gratitude and accomplishment.  It's my moment to take it all in, because this particular time in my life and these moments in this wonderful city are fleeting. One day it will all have to end.

I hope I never forget this feeling.
I hope I always remember the lights.