I can honestly say that I can look back fondly on my high school years. They weren't perfect. They were full of their own kind of angst. And lord no, I would never wish to go back, but I don't look back and cringe (much) or cry or wish people dead. It was an era in my life just like any other - a mixture of good and bad. And don't you know, there's plenty to be mined for good story material. Silly as I am, I'm practical, too. Story material is a good thing.
Now I won't bore you with those details - that's what my reunion is for, but I will tell you that I was privileged to graduate high school smack in the middle of THE BEST nostalgic era since the 1950s. Oh yes, I graduated in 1984. Big hair, big shoulder pads, big music. Reagan, Dynasty, yuppies, skinny ties, John Hughes films. It was........memorable.
Did I ever tell you how I didn't want to go to college and my mother made me go? I was sooooo in love with my boyfriend and I wanted to stay in Rising Sun. But the Big R would have none of that. After an incident involving my father, a chainsaw, and a missing shoe, I scrapped my mother's plans for me to go to nursing school in Cincinnati, and chose instead to go to Ball State to become a teacher.
That plan didn't work out either, but it certainly set me on the path to where I am today. Believe it or not, my decision in 1987 to major in French is what got me my first job in association management and I'm still in the field today. Along the way, I have had great loves, met some of the most incredibly interesting people and have been afforded the opportunity to do things I could have never imagined back in 1984.
And still, I feel like there's so much I want to do.
But for this weekend, I'm going back. I'll see the people who knew me when my hair was dark, my skin was dewy and most of my life was still ahead of me. I can't wait to share the memories and to learn what they've been doing all these years. I'll be back next week with pictures and maybe a few stories that won't bore you too much. Maybe videos, too, Latka!
For now, a couple of songs from that time. ...
This one made me cry back when I was being pushed from the nest.....
And then this one which was best listened to as we drove around in Darla's Trans Am with the windows down and the T tops off.
Ah yes......now I wonder if that Mr. Boston Screwdriver mix is still in the back of the closet at The Big R's house?
