What’s a moment in your life that made you feel truly alive?
I don’t typically respond to the prompts that Word Press puts out to remind me to blog, but I am in the airport today returning from a work trip in Wyoming.
My wife and I were able to celebrate our 27th wedding anniversary together. Traveling reminded me of being a student in Paris in 1996. That’s where I met my wife to be. And that’s where I felt truly alive.
I remember landing in Paris as part of the University of Delaware’s study abroad program. I was plugged into an apartment in the 14th arrondissement — Metro Alesia. My French was basic, but I immediately felt at home. That made no sense: I was a kid from Sussex County, Delaware. Why did I feel at home?
There was something about the beauty, the history, the freedom of being a young person almost done with his undergraduate studies. The Metro became my main vehicle: whenever I wanted to find some way to entertain myself, I hopped on the Metro. Within 30 minutes, I was somewhere new in Paris. (I don’t know why it always seemed like 30 minutes, but it always seemed to hold true.)
I remember taking one of my friends from Delaware around with me one time. I told him that he was completely anonymous in Paris. I pointed at the man sitting in front of me and told him, “You’ll never see that gentleman again.” Ironically, when we got back into the Metro after visiting the museum, the same man was in front of me on the ride back. He tipped his hat and defeated my example.
But there was beauty at every turn. The Haussmann boulevards were beautiful at any time of day. I never ceased to be amazed that whether it was dawn, mid-morning, afternoon, dusk, or late night, the city glowed.
I met my wife in Paris. We began dating near the end of my time in Paris. Part of my rose colored lenses from that time period ties directly back to her. It has been said that you’ve never been kissed until you’ve been kissed in Paris. I don’t know if that’s true, but it was true for me.
I did feel fully alive. Studying art, history, and politics. Discovering places that only existed in story books: yes that was all part of it. But meeting the woman of my dreams in a city that ultimately became a second home, that was the essence of being fully alive.
