An "Our Town" Moment

In 7th grade, we read the play "Our Town" in English class. It was a fantastic read and I enjoyed it thoroughly. But what really struck a chord with me and never quite left was a comment my English teacher made. During our post-reading discussion, she gave what was, in her opinion (and I believe it to be true), the underlying "moral of the story"--that it is truly impossible to, at all times in one's life, appreciate the currently transpiring moment and its value (for while we remember the fun times, we also laugh fondly in retrospect at the times when we couldn't wait to get out of the classroom, were bored to tears, or were for some reason or another wishing for that moment to be over), but that it is in one's best interest to do so, and appreciate to some degree even the times that one wishes nothing but to be done with--Thus the term known among my friends known as an "Our Town" moment - a moment in which one is blissfully among loved ones or for similar reasons fully content with themselves and the world around them - came to be.

I would not be surprised to find that half the world's population had an "Our Town" moment associated with this song. Mine took place in our school's auditorium in 8th grade. Our school choirs were performing the annual spring concert, which, that year, was Beatles-themed. At one point in the concert, both choirs joined together to sing "Hey Jude". During the song, one of my closest friends had a solo in which he sang beautifully. Finally, during the final repeating chorus at the end of the song, my group of amazing friends and I joined in as much of a group hug as was possible while sitting in a row of seats and sang along, swaying. The pure joy of the moment was almost overwhelming, with the emotion of the atmosphere and the prospect of two of these companions leaving our school (one even moving across the country) in just over a month made it a moment I will never forget.