3 Years Out

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about the high school years.  A lot of those memories are followed by, "Why did I do that?"  I also hear that line from Kenny Chesney's song, Young.

Looking back now, it makes me laugh

Why did I not know how to do anything with my hair other than to wear it in a ponytail until after 10th grade?

Why did I agree to take a blind date to Junior prom when he was just a big cootie?  I'm glad I don't have any pictures of that one!  The memories are enough!

Why did I chase after that guy for so long?  Why did it take so long for me to see things clearly?

Why did I always think that I was going to miss something if I wasn't always hanging out with my classmates?

Why didn't I tell that classmate what truly made me happy when he asked me?

Why did I let some of that drama get to me?

What the heck was I thinking when I took the presidential race for the FFA so seriously?

Why was I always so scared of the ball in basketball and softball?

Why didn't I quit softball sooner?

Why did it take me so long to stop making stupid faces in pictures?

Why did I wear a smelly blanket around my last day of senior year?

High school was an interesting journey.  I got locked out of Driscoll's class once, and kicked out of Shafranek's.  Luckily, I had just as much fun in the shop as the classroom!  I, along with a lot of my classmates, spent our last night as high school students, camping out on the front lawn of the school.  I was the one who always got picked on in basketball because I was THE WORST player on our team.  I was the best benchwarmer at both.  Almost every week at Bible Study I was crying, literally, about something good or extremely challenging that had happened to me that week.

 I wish I would have recognized my priorities sooner, but who doesn't have that wish?  There are a few minor things that if I could go back and change, I would.  I would have stuck up for my friend instead of sitting there in silence.  I would not have gotten in the truck with my classmate who had had a few, unbeknownst to me.  I would have begun to invest in the younger side of our youth group a lot sooner than I did.

Even if I would change some things, this is still my story, I still have those stories to tell.  They have helped make me who I am.  God taught me a lot back then, and I've learned a lot more about those years in the past 3 years since I left.