10 Years Ago Today

A very funny thing happened to me during one of my English lessons this evening.  I was sitting with one of my best students, having a conversation lesson, when we started talking about high school and tests and graduation...and it hit me that ten years ago, I graduated from high school.  Something continued nagging me, however, and I decided to pull out my high school diploma and show it to my student.  As I checked the date, I was shocked to see that on this EXACT day ten years ago, I graduated high school.  Now, my friends, that is a weird feeling.  To be sitting in the middle of my lesson, in my apartment in Be'er Sheva, Israel, and to be transported back to where I was exactly ten years ago to that moment.

I happily remembered the day, starting off as a beautiful, sunny May morning in Arkansas.  We had graduation practice that morning on the football field, and we were all pretty sure that we wouldn't be rained out and forced into the gym with the clear sky and the pleasant breeze.  I found on my seat my final English paper from the famed Mrs. Kropp (my her memory be forever blessed)...that stress-filled project that determined if I kept my perfect 4.0 average or not (it was).  I remember time spent with the family and friends and how quickly the day ran away until we all converged on the football stadium that evening.  Decked out in red heels in honor of my beloved sister, Lori, who also wore red heels to her Southside High School graduation years before, I joined the throngs of my fellow students to graduate.  It was beautiful...I remember lots of specific parts, especially when Mr. Mahaffey grabbed my ankle before I walked across the podium to get my diploma, with a huge smile on his face (that smile that no one can forget) and surely lots of great memories in his heart.  (Super quick side story, Mr. Mahaffey, easily one of the most influential teachers of my life, taught my oldest sister, Kim, and vowed to not retire until he had taught me.  True to his word, my year was his last year of teaching.  I was so fortunate to have him as a teacher and a mentor, and I gained so much from him.)  I remember the first few students dropping their diplomas as they crossed the stage, out fear or nerves or whatever, and I made a mental note to hold on for dear life.  I remember a sea full of light blue caps and gowns and the tunnel our teachers made, escorting us into to beginning of the end...and on into a new beginning.

Now, let's twist the mind around a bit more.  I've been reflecting, ever since my discovery, on where I thought I would be and where I actually am now.  As a naive and energetic 18 year old, I never thought that my life would end up in Israel, studying my Masters degree in a language that I'm still learning, roughing it and toughing it and loving it with an amazing life partner and tons of unbelievable friends by my side.  The last ten years have been a roller coaster, but all the dips and turns and loopty-loops make me who I am, and I'm proud of the life I've lived and the life I'm living.  Sure, I've made some terrible choices, but more importantly, I've learned from them.  All of this beautiful reflection in the midst of an end-of-the-semester, too-stressed-out-to-function, all-work-and-no-play crisis with lots of tears and snot.  But, damn, if these are the things I'm stressed about - a presentation in front of a group of doctors with whom I've worked and co-treated patients all year, leading a mock group therapy session, cleaning my big and beautiful apartment, spending time with my amazing and intelligent boyfriend, finding time to be with all those super friends I've been blessed with, etc. - then I would say that I'm doing terribly well.  So, with sleep deprivation on my mind, I'll finish this nostalgic post with a smile on my face and a happy reflection in my heart.  Southside High School Class of 2004.




(And I made it through the entire post without saying something about feeling old...high five!  Hahaha!)