What look, you say? I mean THE look. You all know what I'm taking about. It's that moment when you and that certain someone are face to face; you're in close proximity in a dimly lit room or some similarly amorous environment. Then, you get the look. There is nothing quite like that spilt second of the look. As fellow Hitchcock resident Abby says, "That's the best feeling. What else can you say?"
The look is more than just a facial expression. It is an aura surrounding a situation. It's a mood, and it is an expression of emotion. More than just a casual encounter, the look happens when there are feelings involved, and those feelings are always mutual. If this moment turns into a relationship, the look usually only happens the first time, making it all the more precious.
My hall bonded sharing our look moments the other night. One look was a long drawn out one in a frat between a certain '98 (let's call her Erica) and her better half. One was in a cold garage with it raining outside. Another was on the front porch of a house. No matter what the surroundings, everyone knows and can remember the look. Every person has a story (or a soap opera in some cases) that belongs only to them and one other.
That is why each look is different, each memorable. Every encounter has its own unique circumstances. One person in our little group shared a long drawn out story of unrequited love that lasted for two years before she got that look. It lasted through other serious relationships, and it was not until just before leaving for college that it finally happened. It was a moment so long in coming, that it made it all the more exhilarating when it arrived.
The look is one of those magical in-between moments. It's a moment in-between striving and accomplishment, when achievement is certain. I was recently participant to a discussion in my Government seminar concerning whether it is better to be provided for, with all needs met; or to be uncertain of the future, but free with our own choice. In class, I said that the best part of attaining some goal or desire is the fact that it came about by our doing; but that's not really true. The best moment is when we know our goal will be met, but we have not yet reached it. This moment is the in-between.
We have all experienced these moments. That time after you get a job, but haven't yet started is an in-between. The time after you're accepted to college, but haven't graduated high school is an in-between. The time when you've finished the column due today, but haven't yet had to think about the one due next week. These are the times when you have secured your future, but haven't left the comfort of the present.
The Class of 2000 just recently took part in orientation, a glorious time when we had arrived at college, but hadn't yet had to work. During this time everything was possible. The egos that our individual high schools established hadn't been deflated, because we had yet to realize that most other people in our dorm have boards in the fifteen-hundreds. This time went all too quickly, as we are now plunged into classes and find ourselves among three thousand new faces.
So the next time you get the look from that special someone, appreciate it for the wonderfully fleeting in-between moment that it is.
