- Even though I was only at MHS for about 45 minutes tonight, I came away with some relatively stimulating thoughts:
- It’s a little sad to think how much my HS relationships have changed in the last 5 years. I was so close with a lot people, and they really changed my life, influenced who I am today. I mean, without band at Mattawan, I seriously have no idea what my life would be like. I kind of feel like I still know a lot about friends from MHS but I know I don’t. I’ve changed a lot through college and I can’t pretend they haven’t; especially when so many of them are married, in Americorps, traveling, etc.
- It’s interesting which relationships we hold onto. I know a lot of people who are still really close with a lot of people from high school. I know people (like me) who are friends with some people and acquaintances with others. Then there are people who aren’t friends with anyone and completely move on from the experience. It’s also pretty remarkable the paths of our relationships take. Like how I wasn’t friends with Katie Fahey until a few years ago. Or how I knew Phil when I first moved here but both value or need my relationship with him (and now Kristin) like 100x more.
- I am very very very grateful for the relationships I have. Carlee and Krystle, my amazing camp family, my fabulous roommates. I need them all. I’m also thankful for my family, though with some of my family members, I do wish I had a different relationship.
- All of these thoughts also make me a little sad to think of this in terms of my FHS kids. A lot of them are so close with so many people and so many of those kids are just plain fantastic. Some of them will stay friends, but probably most of them won’t; and all of them will change in some way. Hopefully, to become better versions of their current selves. But still, I hate change.
- I watched Friends (season 1) on VHS tonight. VHSs rock...you can fast forward through the obnoxious FBI warnings and they rewind on their own. If it weren’t so damn cold in this basement I’d just sleep here.
I'm not unemployed anymore - I actually have a very fabulous job as a preschool teacher with the University of Michigan child care centers. But I'm still posting, albeit a little more irregularly, and I don't want to ignore the personal progress I've made since starting this blog by renaming it.
Blog inspiration: I read 48 States in 48 Days by Paul Jury in the summer of 2011. It was fabulous...although he planned way less for his roadtrip than I would have. And at the same time, my lovely Anna was constantly reminding me that our lives were awesome, despite the fact that we didn't have job prospects, new cars, boyfriends/husbands, houses, etc., like so many people we knew. So, in an effort to appreciate my life and the crazy uncertainty that it is, I started writing this blog about the little adventures I have. (And by "writing a blog," I mean "making a list" because I make lists, not narratives.) Even if there isn't a BIG adventure that happens every day, I try to find at least one thing to list :)
YAY staying friends.
ReplyDeleteDon't be too sad about your FHS kids moving on and the possibility of growing apart. The growing apart isn't too terrible when you think of how it will influence who they will become and that they will be making even more new friends. Think of all the people we were kind of friends with in HS but then found people to be BFFs with in college. Sometimes, change is ok. And it's so gradual that you don't even notice. It's not the slap you in the face kind of change, but one that you only realize after a while and its already happened.
HUGS
PS- I'll bring over a space heater for the basement so that you can sleep over there.