Next weekend is my ten year high school reunion. I will not be in attendance. I have spent more time in Western North Carolina this year than I have in ten years collectively, and have no desire to make the dreaded trip down I-40 for the third time in a month. Besides, most of the people I would care to reunite with (and a few I was hoping to never have to see again) have found me on MySpace or Facebook. What’s the point of a reunion now that Cyber-Networking is taking over the world anyway?
Last week I visited my alma mater for the first time in ten years to watch my niece graduate. For those few hours it was as if I’d fallen into the Twilight Zone and was teleported back to 1999 when it was my class spraying silly string and setting off fire crackers. The gym seemed to be a lot smaller than I remembered it and new pictures hung on the walls, but overall, the experience was exactly the same.
As I watched my niece walk the stage and accept her diploma, I realized that I didn’t really miss high school or even the people in it. What I did miss was the girl that I was then, untainted by reality, full of hope, taking on the world at full steam, knowing nothing but invincibility and courage. I was naïve and reckless, but I was free to take my life in any direction I wanted to go.
For a moment I mourned the loss of that spunky girl with the spiky, bleached blonde hair and tie-dyed tank tops. Not that she would’ve listened, but I intensely wished that I could go back in time and tell her some important details about the road ahead.
- Don’t take a year off before you go to college. You won’t believe how long that year will last.
- Stay away from boys named after motorcycles. They are nothing but trouble. Actually, just stay away from boys in general; your taste really sucks.
- Smoking pot on federal property is a FELONY. Just FYI.
- Don’t eat or drink anything homemade in New Orleans. In fact, try to avoid New Orleans all together.
- Your mother isn’t nearly as stupid as you think she is.
- Just say NO to Pizza Hut.
- Save more money than you waste, but always be sure to waste a little.
- Honor your family. Friends will come and go, but your family is forever.
- Take care of your heart. It’s the only one you get.
- Love the people around you well and never be afraid to say how you feel.
Life is nothing but a journey full of crossroads. There are no wrong turns – only different destinations.
