A Short Story

I love walking out of an air conditioned building into the stifling, deep-south summer heat. Stepping out, it feels literally like walking into an oven. Or a marshmallow.

The summer after my freshman year of college, I took College Algebra in the evenings at The W. After the less-than-stellar academic performance, it was that class that redeemed me. I was at the first in a lifetime of existential crises, and in that class I was able to find my footing again. I was able to re-focus on my classwork and on my life. They kept the buildings on ice. And every time I left class, I walked back outside into the happy slow burn of the enveloping evening heat. It is one of my happiest memories in life. It felt like freedom.