anticipation

[From Merriam Webster] Anticipation- A: a prior action that takes into account or forestalls a later action; B: the act of looking forward; especially : pleasurable expectation
[From Urban Dictionary] Anticipation- The feeling you feel when you feel you're going to feel a feeling you've never felt before.

For me, anticipation is one element of life that makes everything that much more enjoyable. Popular sayings state that the journey is just as important as the destination, that absence makes the heart grow fonder, and so on. However, these sayings can only be made true because during that journey or absence, one anticipates the end result/reward, and this makes the journey or absence that much more bearable.

Its because of this that the build up before high school graduation is so euphoric; why the moment before a first kiss seems to last; why your heart starts racing with excitement when the lights dim in the theater at the start of a long-awaited movie. Even if the end result is not up-to-par or slightly different than expected, this feeling of looking forward to it makes it that much more interesting in the long run.

Anyway, I just returned from seeing Batman: The Dark Knight at its midnight release, and while I will say that I greatly enjoyed the movie and will no doubt be seeing it a few more times before it leaves theaters, I think everyone should go see it and gather their own impressions of the most anticipated movie of 2008. You may never look at a joker card or a bat the same way again, but the anticipation of finding out why will make the impressions that much more lasting.