Today, I got to work, ready to tackle another day's worth of teaching -- tests and journals to grade, lessons to plan, a musical to plan auditions for next week (EEK!). Before getting down to business, I took a sip of my coffee from the new travel mug my sis gave me for Christmas and opened up my trusty e-mail -- and nearly spit a mouthful of Maxwell House all over the monitor. Along with the spam I can't seem to avoid offering me a credit card or a bigger penis (now THAT'S a miracle drug!) was an e-mail from a classmate of mine from high school with information about our reunion this summer. Our 20th reunion. Holy crap. I am freakin' old!
It's hard to believe it's been 20 years since I walked across that stage and grabbed that diploma. Sometimes, it seems like it was just yesterday that I was staying late to edit the school newspaper (The Budget) or spending Thursday nights with my girlies at Alfano's pizzeria listening to Edie Brickell on the jukebox, toasting the death of Roy Orbison, and using the same coupon for MONTHS after it had expired. I look in the mirror and outside of the smaller framed glasses and longer, non-Flock of Seagulls hair, I still see that same girl.
Or do I? Because on the other hand, it seems like forever since I was in high school. I've lost touch with just about all of my high school friends -- or had until Facebook came along. The path my life has taken isn't quite the path I thought I was hopping on with that diploma. Not that I'm complaining although I often wonder what that 17 year old would think if I were to go back and say, "Okay, kid, here's the thing. Law school is going to suck, so that's not going to work out but you are going to LOVE teaching. Unfortunately, that means no BMW. Sorry. But Chrysler Sebrings are cool, too. No marriage, no kids, but you know what? You're pretty darn happy." Would she be okay with that? Who knows?
So now the big question is am I going to go to this thing or not? There are some people that it would be fun to see outside of Facebook. There are some people it would be interesting to see how they turned out. And hey -- it'll give me something to blog about, right? :)
2 comments:
HOLY CATS!!! Seriously??? It's going on 20 years. Oh.My.God. We're frickin' old! And it's totally boring when life goes as planned - what's the fun in that? I made no plans so I'm entertained everyday ... anyway, I'll bet one thing you planned came to fruition: your happiness. And really, what else matters?
I think I decided I felt old the day I realized that I hit puberty right around the time No. 1 Son's swim teacher was born. I can honestly say that my life has turned out almost nothing like what I imagined it would, and that girl I was in high school seems much like a character in a book I once read rather than a part of my own life. But hey, I like the way it's turned out, and one of the best parts is having grown way beyond the anxieties and heartaches of high school. If you do go, have fun! It isn't often you get to pay a visit to your own past.
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