Sidenote

I was sitting on the tile floor the other day. Yellow light poured from the overhead lantern and through the half-blinking blinds that protect us from the afternoon sun and it struck me: I am free. Whether it was forgotten or never recognized, there it is. I am not in school, not in the army, not in a bad relationship, not in a job that sucks my soul... and even if I were, I would still be free to leave. 

In middle school, I checked the clock every two minutes on Wednesday afternoons (the Saudi equivalent of Friday afternoons). The excitement of the weekend and everything I could do in it was almost too intense for my body. I bundled all the energy flooding down my spine somewhere in my chest. I kept this syndrome to myself, figuring I was alone in it.

Now I feel like it's Wednesday afternoon again, but instead of 48 hours stretched out in front of me like an oceanic swimming pool, it's an entire life, and, lo and behold, I'm already swimming.