Tom Petty is really great (and other core memories)

I think it is really interesting how a single moment in your life can make such a profound impact, even when, at the time, it really didn't seem very significant. I had just broken up with a long term girlfriend and found my rebound in a really nice girl that lived like 50mi from my house. It took a fairly significant (for young me) drive to get to her house, and, given the fact that I didn't have a stable job, took a significant toll on my finances. But, I made it work because I thought she was pretty cool. We went to a big concert in Tuscon (my first ever big solo experience without my parents or financial help from my parents, very memorable). Once we got home, we hung out for a while and then went to bed. The next day, she said her mom was asking when she was going to be home, and I (to my mind) very clearly joked that she needed to find her own ride back. It was something along the lines of "you think I am gonna bring you home? Hahah, get a load of this!" in a very sarcastic tone. She did not get the memo that I was joking, and things kinda went wild.

Eventually, I was able to explain to her that yes, I was planning on bringing her home whenever she wanted, and we headed off, with her in a sour mood and me trying everything I can think of to cheer her up and get her to realize that I was joking. This led to me listening to Hollywood Undead and $uicideboy$ the whole ride back shudder. Right when we got into the town she lived in, she turned on one song of my favorite band (Tom Petty) and it just so happened to be Crawling Back to You, which is a GREAT song.

This whole event didn't seem super significant at the time, but looking back on it, it really helped me to realize how much I resonate with that song, how a lot of the stuff I worry about never happens (and contrary, a lot of the stuff I never even think would happen ends up occurring), helped me connect with my father (his favorite band was also Tom Petty, and this experience further solidified my love of the band) and, in a roundabout way, really taught me some important lessons about what I look for in people and what I was looking for at that time.

Now every time I hear that song, I don't really even think about the situation itself so much, but rather the idea that of all the times I have failed, whether in love, friendship, work, hobbies, or anything else for that matter, there is always a lower point, and, more importantly, there is always a much higher one. It reminds me that I should be thankful I haven't hit the lower point, and hopeful that things will turn around in my favor. I really don't think that is what Tom Petty was going for in the song, but that is what I get out of it, anyway.