Nostalgia '98

I'm chewing some Bubblicious gum 

the big pink wad is filling my entire mouth with artificial strawberry flavor

I really wanted to buy the classic bubblegum 

but the store didn't have any

but either which way, without the super sweet, wistful taste 

of old school bubblegum in my mouth

I'm feeling pretty nostalgic today

as I usually am, which I guess goes along with being in college

and watching everyone slowly building up to the real world, whatever that is

when I think about school, and graduating with an art history,

 possibly sociology degree

I have mini nightmares 

of being 28 and still being an intern

by then I'd have a sad blog titled "The Life and Times of the Perpetual Intern"

I'd sit in my cramped studio apartment struggling to balance my checkbook,

fit everything into my small closet, and keep it together,

eating leftover pizza (I wouldn't mind that)

wondering when I should do laundry, and how long I could go 

without paying my cable bill

before the company rips away my super old school marathons of

 Everybody Loves Raymond

I'll be so far away from the days when Juicy Fruit & Big Red

were a quarter and the most popular types of gum

the days when my mom would give me a dollar to spend at the corner candy store 

right before I went into elementary school to mumble the pledge 

and begin beating up all the boys in my twisted sense of flirting

I would have my dollar, probably in 4 quarters

and I would buy an ice cream sandwich- 25 cents

a bag of Doritos - 25 cents

2 of the large individually packed Swedish fish (nommmm)-10 cents

2 Airheads (one blue, one red)- 30 cents

and still have enough money to buy a couple of Cry Babies or Warheads

gosh, Warheads are so nauseatingly sour, but as a kid I loved the challenge

of holding one in my mouth until I couldn't breathe from the sourness

until I spit it out 

only to try once again

I would eat the ice cream sandwich slowly, so the chocolate 

could stick onto my fingers, leaving me with a treat

even after the little sandwich had been devoured by my newly forming adult teeth

the candy store was the mecca, followed by the school yard

where violent games of cops & robbers ruled, as did 

flared jeans, skinned knees, platform sneakers, and lopsided bangs

now the library rules, gone are the days of sitting in circles

playing duck, duck goose, spelling tests, and yearning to be 

Student of the Month

now I'm just yearning to finish my readings on Marxism

so I'm just going to sit here in the library, 

chewing my gum (which cost nearly 2 bucks)

blowing bubbles and trying to hold onto that that feeling of power,

as I chased someone down in the yard

or finally learned how to do long division or write in cursive,

hoping I don't grow up too fast.