10 Years Ago

Ten years ago, I was in my senior year of high school. This has become painfully obvious to me as I receive email after email about my class reunion. Unfortunately, I'm half-way across the globe with no plans to return to MN this summer, so I won't be attending said reunion. I always thought I'd dread such a thing. You know, like in the movies when no one wants to go because they'll just see how hot the school jocks still are and have to feel bad about not being married with 2 kids and a dog or make up some fantastic fact about how they spent their ten years.

Well, as it turns out, I think I wouldn't actually go anyway, but for completely different reasons. I mean, honestly I have a great job making good money, I've traveled a LOT, I have wonderful friends and loved ones who care about me, I'm thinner than I was 5 years ago (no one is as thin 10 yrs later as they were in HS, are they?), and still feel no inadequacy about not marrying or popping out babies. I'm in a great position to enjoy a reunion with all the people who tripped my friends and I walking down "hick hall," called us horrible names outside the drama room, and made fun of us when we participated in the themed dress-up days. In fact, it might be interesting to see how the tables may have turned (or at least evened) over the past decade.

But at the same time, most of my friends from high school are a year or two older or younger than I am. I had very few close friends in my class, so have even fewer reasons to attend this class reunion. On top of this, the school buildings I spent 5 semesters in were entirely demolished over the past 4 years so there's no chance of returning home and walking through the old halls. Lastly, I'm not really interested in spending a whole night talking about myself with a guy who's just waiting for me to finish so he can talk about himself, then lather, rinse, repeat with the next girl.

So, in lieu of attending I've sent this photo collage for the organizers to include in their presentation of "then" and "now" pictures. The photos are from 2007 to 2009, but pretty much sum up what I'd tell you if you and I met at my reunion. (In case you're really interested in my past, here's another collage including Iceland, Norway, Thailand, NYC, and some family in Korea.)

1. At the Great Wall of China, Beijing, 2007 2. My sister Ellie and I, Phoenix, Christmas 2009  3. At the Statue of Liberty, NY, 2008  4. Boyfriend Deuk Kyun and I at Korea's green tea fields, 2009  5. My class on Halloween, Korea, 2009 6. In a Hanbok (traditional Korean dress), 2009.