A Jewel of My Own

By Amy Coward

On a recent trip to Florida, I had the chance to visit my old college roommate, Becky. We hadn’t seen each other in about 20 years so I was very excited to catch up. Becky and I shared an apartment for about two years while in college at the University of Florida (Go Gators!) and have kept in touch with cards and notes ever since.

The day we were to get together, I fretted over what to wear and how I looked, knowing deep down that it didn’t really matter. But I couldn’t help myself. I finally decided the wrinkles on my neck weren’t going anywhere and off I went.

We met at a restaurant in Orlando for lunch and as I approached, I searched the tables for a familiar face. After only a moment, I spotted her and we hugged and stared at each other, unable to believe we were actually face to face.

Becky looked just the same to me with the exception of her hair. Once very dark and long, her hair was now short and layered with a few strands of gray. She was still tall and thin, and her kind face, her broad smile and her presence were just as I remembered. We spent an hour talking about our jobs, our families and our hobbies. I immediately wished that we had seen each other more over the years. Why hadn’t we? (Probably the above noted jobs, families and hobbies.)

Being with Becky was like traveling back in time for a moment. I remembered meeting her through the “Roommates Wanted” section of the college newspaper which was commonplace back then. (Not as scary as Craigslist is today.) From the beginning, we hit it off. We shared a tiny apartment and commiserated about our old cars that barely got us from place to place. (My lovely, baby blue Ford Pinto couldn’t climb a hill if the air conditioning was on.) We made our way to class, endured part-time jobs and gladly made late-night runs to the “In and Out” burger place. We shared the good and the bad and there was certainly a little of both along the way. There were horrible registration days (when you had to physically stand in line for hours to get the classes you wanted), brutal professors and annoying “team” assignments. But we got through it. A bottle of wine and Becky’s amazing macaroni with cottage cheese and lots of pepper helped for sure.

There are few times in life like your college years. The people you meet (and sometimes live with), the crazy things you do. Some of it makes for great memories; some of it doesn’t. But if you’re lucky, you have one little jewel of a memory. Something or someone that makes you smile when you remember.

My jewel is undoubtedly Becky. Lucky me.

Amy Coward is a public relations professional in Columbia, SC. When she is not managing the madness of event planning at Palmetto Health Foundation, she is turning her empty nest upside down looking for fun and finding it. 

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