Sometimes, I think we miss memories more than we miss places. These moments that could only happen because of the places you were and people you were with. You won’t miss the place as much as you will miss the way it looked as the backdrop to special moments in your life.
The first time I went to the Eiffel Tower, I went all the way to the top with my high school French club. Because, at the time, the way to make the most of your time at the Eiffel Tower was to go to the top.
Picture this, twelve teenage American girls with intermediate level French skills all enter the top of the Eiffel Tower. Needless to say, it was loud. At this time, we had studied French for at least four years, and this was our peak. I remember stepping out the elevator and immediately feeling the wind hit my face. Paris was the only thing you could see for miles, well, I guess kilometers. I remember smiling for pictures and worrying about how the wind was making my hair look. We could hear my teacher yelling “Les filles! Les filles!’ Desperately trying to get our attention so we wouldn’t make a fool of ourselves. However, this did not stop us from laughing and smiling the whole time we were up there. It was dark and we could hear other people around us fulfilling their somewhat immature dreams of being there as well. Since French had been a part of my life since I was young, it felt like this was a moment I had been preparing for.
The second time I was at the Eiffel Tower, it was with one of my friends from elementary school and her family. Her mother took her, her sisters, and me to Paris that summer. They had a family tradition where each of the siblings went on a trip to Europe with their dad after graduating high school. What made this different, was that her dad had passed away just two years earlier. I felt very honored to be on this trip with her and her family. It was approaching the end of our time there, and we decided to see the Eiffel Tower at night. We stood around waiting and eating crepes. Eventually, we saw the lights gradually start to pop up on the tower until it was a full-blown sparkle. I can’t remember whose idea it was to hop on the carousel at that moment, but it was a good one. We were throwing our heads back and laughing at the fact that we were all on a children’s ride and genuinely having a good time. Right then, there was a moment of joy amidst several months of sadness I had seen my friend living in. That night, the Eiffel Tower served as the backdrop to a different moment in my life. One that not only meant a lot to me, but even more to those around me.
Recently, I was in Paris studying with my school. While it felt like the days were long due the sheer volume of exciting things we did, sitting here now, it feels like time flew by. In Paris, I was able to not only go to new places, and meet new people, but I was also able to learn how to navigate around a big city. My third and most recent time at the Eiffel tower was this past June. I was drinking wine and eating snacks. It started with two bottles of wine to share with four people and turned into multiple bottles with 12 people.
It just so happened that I was in Paris at the same time as one of my hometown friends who decided to meet us there along with some of the friends she had made. Everyone was enjoying each other’s company and I was still experiencing that same issue with the wind and my hair I had the first time I was here. There was music playing just loud enough on other people’s speakers to serve as the perfect background music for us. Not only did I have the freedom of being in college, but I also had a full understanding of how to use the public transportation system to get home by taking RER B towards Robinson, and the possibility of a Tunisian man meeting me under the Eiffel Tower in fifteen minutes? Who had I become? This is not something that would happen to me at home. Once again, I found myself at a pivotal moment with the Eiffel Tower’s silhouette taking shape in the background.
I have been to the Eiffel tower three different times now. Each with different groups of people and as different versions of myself. The first time, I went to the top and saw all that I thought the Eiffel tower had to offer, one of the best views of Paris. Now, if anything, the Eiffel Tower offers more than a backdrop for great pictures, but also as the perfect setting for memories to be made.
