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"Driving to school with my dad as a kid was one of my favorite experiences. He would drive the old black Mustang with red interior while I&amp;#039;d dig through the center console, looking at the old mix tapes he had in there. I know it might sound pretty weird, but I still remember reading the track listings and coming across Bruce Springsteen&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;The Ties that Bind.&amp;quot; I played that tape more times than I can count. So, it really isn&amp;#039;t surprising that the song came on my iPod this morning as I rode the subway into work. Twelve years later and that song still sticks with me \u2014 but I guess the context has changed somewhat. Even though I rocked out in my 9-year-old fashion, I didn&amp;#039;t really &amp;quot;get&amp;quot; it. Honestly, what does a grade-schooler know about life, love, and maintaining connections? Now, as a college upperclassman, I understand just what the song is trying to get across. When relationships with friends take an unexpected turn, we&amp;#039;re often shaken to our foundation. For me, this meant trying to cut people out of my life completely. It didn&amp;#039;t matter how much history we had, how close we were, or even how much we learned from the experience \u2014 all that mattered was that I needed closure without gray areas. The easiest way? Cut people out \u2014 and fast. In all reality, this approach doesn&amp;#039;t work. Recently, I&amp;#039;ve found myself trying to rebuild lost connections. I&amp;#039;ve had some of my best experiences because of them \u2014 and learned some of my most important lessons. I know I can&amp;#039;t be quite as eloquent as Bruce (who I am, by the way, mildly obsessed with), but I guess I&amp;#039;ll just have to work on maintaining ties instead. Do you have any people like this in your life? How do you show them that they matter to you? Honest to blog, Margeaux Web Intern "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.seventeen.com/life/a10905/daily-kiss-ties-that-bind/>