WOW how 10 years flew right by me....

Well, folks.... I am off to my 10 year high school reunion in good ole El Dorado, KS this weekend.

I am super excited and also a little nervous. There are only a handful of people that I have REALLY kept in contact with over the years (I can thank Facebook for bringing me closer to others in my class), so I am a little nervous to see everyone else. I assume these feelings are pretty normal for anyone approaching their 10, 20 or 30 year high school reunion. I think if I had continued to live in El Dorado and kept in touch with everyone, it would be different. But I left El Dorado in 2001 and have never really looked back. My parents moved from there in 2006 and my sister has been gone for many years as well. Really, I have no reason to ever go back to that town. So, I almost feel like a complete visitor in the town I once called home. Pair that with the fact that high school wasn't really the BEST experience for me. You know those people who LIVE for high school and that was the best part of their lives? Well, that was not me. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't horrible at all. It just isn't something I look back on as the "best time in my life". I would say college was probably one of the best times for me so far. I loved college :)

I guess what I am trying to get at is that I feel like a completely different person than I was in high school. I look back at myself and it doesn't even seem like the same person. I have, and probably always will, struggle with confidence. But, I was really self conscious in high school, I cared a little too much what people thought about me and I strived to fit in with the "so called" popular crowd so much that I often got my feelings hurt. Now I look back and laugh at all this. I really don't care at all what anyone thinks of me anymore, I am more confident than I used to be and a popular crowd doesn't really exist in adulthood.

When I graduated I told myself I never wanted to see anyone again and I wanted to get away. Well, 10 years later, I am eager to see everyone again, catch up and just have fun with all my friends, acquaintances and even those people I didn't necessarily like 10 years ago. Forgive and forget right? Let's all have a blast, CLASS OF 1999!!!!

Here are some photos from my high school years: