PR guru and all-around cool guy Peter Shankman wrote a post yesterday in which he gave advice to this year’s graduating class. And it got me thinking about my own experience as a high school graduate 10 years ago. Ten years ago TODAY, to be exact.
Wow. Ten years. Exactly 10 years ago today I said goodbye to the first (and most lengthy) phase of my education, grades K-12, high school diploma in hand.
And boy, was I ready to get out of there.
I thought about the future then, but on a much more short-term scale. At the time, graduating from college seemed light years away. Getting married, buying not one, but two houses, starting (and sticking to) a career… these things weren’t even on the radar.
And yet, these are some of the significant, life-changing things that these past ten years have brought.
It’s amazing how quickly time passes when you’re busy living life.
The high school years were not the best years of my life. At some points, they were downright horrible. Even back then, I remember thinking , “It has to get better than this.” Once I had that diploma in hand, I was ready to begin the next chapter of my life, leaving the rest behind. And I did.
I went off to college. I took 2 years off in between my sophomore and junior years. I transferred to Brown. I became an aunt. I became a first-time dog mom. I started dating the man who would become my husband. I graduated from college. I started my first real job. I bought my first house. I got married. I bought my second house. I helped start a company, Pinks & Blues and have watched it grow… so much so that we’re renaming and rebranding it as Mom Generations (like, soon!). I started a new job as the Social Media Manager at Mom Central.
All of these things – college, career, marriage, family – they were floating in my mind 10 years ago today as part of the future… but the way that they would be concretely reached within the decade could not have been determined. And I kind of like it that way.
Regrets? I don’t believe in them. Sure, sometimes I wonder how things would have turned out if I had done something differently. But there is no other place I would rather be in my life right now, so somehow everything turned out as it was supposed to.
In many ways, I am the same girl I was back on June 11, 1998. But time and experience has made me a bit more sure of myself. A bit more confident. A bit more assertive.
There are some things about that girl that I have held on to. Her penchant to root for the underdog. Her empathy for others.
Her excitement about the blank slate known as the future, just waiting to be filled with experience.
I didn’t attend my 10 year reunion last month. I felt no need to relive that uncertainty and insecurity that 10 years has taken me to the other side of. If someone had told me then that 10 years from now, things would be better, things would work out, things would be good (actually, maybe my parents did tell me that…!), I may not have completely believed them (or been listening).
But I do now. Because now I know.
- Jane
My senior portrait
Janie,
Dad and I DID tell you all of that, many times over… but we also knew that the science of high school (combined, we have 50+ years of high school teaching experience) is rarely realized until, oh, ten or so years have passed.
The pure prose of a life almost always begins when those high school years end. It’s then that the wondrous turns happen… and an individual’s society is truly expanded.
I love you!
Mom
What a wonderful way to reflect on your first decade as an “adult”
you rock!
Beautiful post. Beautiful photo. What an encouraging post for those now graduating to see what is really important in life.
What a great, reflective post. It is so good to look back at where you have come from and recognize all you’ver accomplished. I think it is funny how much emphasis is put on highschool because really it is just a blip on the screen of life. You have every reason to be proud. Gorgeous pic by the wat!!!
What a great, reflective post. It is so good to look back at where you have come from and recognize all you’ver accomplished. I think it is funny how much emphasis is put on highschool because really it is just a blip on the screen of life. You have every reason to be proud. Gorgeous pic by the way
!!!
I have no good memories of high school either, and sixteen years out I have no desire to ever relive a moment of those years!
Isn’t it great to look back and see where we were, and where we are, and realize that we are much further along than we ever thought possible? I know I have God to thank for getting me through all those tough learning experiences. You are so blessed to have family that is supportive and loving!
I did not attend my high school reunion, but I went to my husband’s (we were one year apart at the same school) and I honestly left their feeling like a million bucks. I was very insecure about going, but mustered up the confidence and I was glad I did. We had the best time and I felt more confident after having gone.
You are very successful at what you do- I bet you would leave there feeling like ten million bucks at the next one!!
I’ve thought about writing a similar post, reflecting on the last 10 years since high school – graduating college, getting married, buying a house having a baby (three times!) and sending my oldest two off to school (the youngest starts pre-k in the fall!). It’s alot once you stop to think about it!
Never in my dreams, would I have thought I’d accomplish all that in 10 years!
Great post. I like many did not have the best high school experience and I am so so happy where I am at now. If I could have only known that all those times I thought the world was ending because a friend was mad at me or a boyfriend broke up with me was all just nothing and eventually I would find myself,, make real friends, have a family of my own and life would turn out better than I could have ever hoped.
I feel a lot of your same feelings as my 10 year reunion will be next year. I was just asked the other day if I would be going and really I don’t think I will as … yes I did have good experiences in highschool but now I am in a whole new ballgame ya know?
Awesome post. I am a ‘98 grad too! Man, what a difference 10 years can make!!
My Beautiful Baby Jane,
I know that your high school years included some difficult times. I want you to know that I’m very proud of the way you handled those situations. You had to deal with some dishonest, jealous, immature “so called friends”, some cowardly adult educators, who to this day should be totally embarrassed of themselves and some parents, who lacked character and were either living in a state of denial or who were quite frankly simply weak, spine-less, pathetic role-models for their children. Whatever the case, you survived and that experience is part of the fabric that created the strong, confident, caring, loving, giving, and empathic beautiful young woman that stands before us today.
Regrets…I don’t believe in them either. You know that I believe that everything happens for a reason in life and what goes around, comes around. The Universe takes care of it’s own and it has taken special care of you. I love you more than anything in the world and you know what comes next…I’m PROUD of you.
Happy 10th
Love,
Dad
Jane, you look absolutely stunning in your senior portrait! Isn’t it amazing how quickly 10 years can fly by? What’s even more amazing is how much can happen in 10 years!
Sometimes we have to experience the not so pleasant things in order to truly appreciate the great things. It sounds weird, but it’s true!
Just look at the wonderful person you have become and all the remarkable accomplishments you’ve got tucked under your belt!
You totally rock, Jane!! XOXO
Jane you are so young! And yet you’ve accomplished so much. I’m sure the next ten years will take you farther down the road of success. Congrats!
Yes! One of the biggest lies ever told is that old saying about high school being the “best years of your life!”
I have to agree that whoever says that your high school are the best years of your life is a dummy. While I am nostalgic for parts of those days, I enjoy my life so much more now, and feel like I have come into the person that I was then, just unsure of. I graduated 8 years ago, and am eager to see the insight that the future brings into those years. They were tough. Though I don’t know you personally, it seems that you are a happy, strong-willed woman who is fully equipped to take on all the world has to dish out. Congratulations on 10 years of starting the rest of your life!
[...] Reflections of 10 years Jane from Pinks & Blues reflects on the 10 years since she graduated high school. Who knew she was that young? My twentiethe reunion has already come and gone. Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]
I didn’t go to mine either, for a lot of the same reasons. And you have so much to be proud of!