On this day, four years ago, I was busy. Very busy. Life was less complex, but definitely more jam-packed back in 2005. Less complexity, but more to do – seems like a paradox doesn’t it?

I wore a lot of hats at that time in my life. Writing for the Desert Oasis, working as a Peer Counselor, attending school full time, and of course serving as President of the student body at my community college.

October 7, 2005 was just three days after the inaugural Blythe Harvest Festival. An event I worked to found with the student activities coordinator, Staci.

A goal for the harvest festival was to create a new tradition. Something that would last past me and Staci. Despite living in a small town, our city lacked charm: that small town feeling of community that anyone growing up with a TV would expect from a village of less than nine thousand citizens.

Creating community and tradition was something the student body had become adept at the year before, and it was something I wished to see continued through my term. Between 2004 and 2006, Palo Verde College gained a spirit and a sense of purpose beyond $30 a unit. We worked fast, and with little money, but we accomplished a lot. Each event grew in attendance, every meeting had more and more students. Student clubs went from three to fifteen, and the empty space at the rear of the CS building became the Pirate’s Den.

Unfortunately the complexities of life over took hopes for the future. Budget issues combined with a new sheriff at the head of Student Services has seen the decline of many things we poured our souls into. Each time I visit my old stomping grounds I see one less thing that I recognize. Instead of coming back to hear stories about what’s been happening since I’ve been gone, I listen to my old friends and colleagues tell me how much better that time we all spent together was.

Nothing lasts forever, but I wish the Harvest Festival had held out for more than three years.