So much has happened since I wrote the final words in my AP English autobiography. Its almost like I was a different person then, but that contradicts my belief that every person is made up of all the people they’ve been at any time during their life. I am still that girl. I just need to find her again. I think the easiest way to make the transition would be to just say : Here it is… the rest of my life after my idealistic first semester.
The Rest of my Senior Year I know it sounds funny but the rest of my senior year kind of flew by. Things changed so quickly at the sound of the New Year’s bell. I’m not sure what did it, but my life did a flip flop and came to rest in a place I never thought it would. My friends had changed, my job eventually changed, and my whole outlook on life eventually changed as well including my morals and self respect. I was okay at first though.
At the beginning of the new year, I found myself becoming lonely. Mike had finished school early and was beginning to discover that King George and Fredericksburg held no excitement compared to the big city. To top it all off, Leah had entered into a serious relationship with a guy named Andy, and I wasn’t really looking for it to happen, but I needed to find some people who could fill a void in my life.
It happened so naturally and without even a big transition. I started spending time with Jeremy M. (who’d been my friend 1st semester), Jeremy Cannon, Tudor, Jimmy (who I’d considered a friend since 11th grade), and Josh. It was weird to find my safe haven amidst this motley crew. I dressed conservatively and was used to spending my Friday nights amidst the intellectuals at a coffee shop. These new boys valued the more fun side of life and it was completely and totally what I needed in my life. And I had fun discovering this new happiness that had completely filled my soul. They never made me feel like they expected anything from me. For a while they even treated me like a lady (that wore off pretty quickly and they treated me like a friend). They were reliable too, but not reliable as I’d known it. They were reliable in a way that wasn’t stressful. I didn’t have to primp to go out with the boys. Most of the time they’d be waiting in the Cato’s parking lot for me after work to whisk me away to Fun Land or a movie or whatever crazy adventure we had in store. It wasn’t all fun and games though. I also had 5 boys to talk to no matter what the topic or how my mood was or how hopeless it seemed. They gave me so much support and I became a real person again. It was weird cause I didn’t feel like they’d toss me aside. I felt like I’d made real friends that would stay with me forever.
I still remember asking Jeremy M., on a whim, if he wanted to come skiing with my youth group. I never expected that the Poconos would not only get me and the KG youth group (which is bad enough) but would also acquire; Jeremy M. Tudor, Jeremy C., Jameson and Jimmy. Skiing was a lot of fun though the only ones who really came with us were Jeremy M. and Jameson. We rented this cabin up in the Poconos with a heart shaped hot tub and like 2 bedrooms. The boys slept downstairs and the girls slept upstairs (yeah right.. ) and we spent a whole day skiing until we couldn’t feel our limbs any longer. I fell down a mountain, got hit by a crazy snowboarder while trying to help Jimmy, and mastered the art of finding cute ski patrol guys. We saw Mike’s mom tell us that I was “going to hell”, Angie sliding down the stairs on an air mattress, Katie claim that she was sleeping outside (below 0 degrees), 2 public service announcements (“Don’t get crabs” and “Don’t drink gasoline”), and Ohio. I completely bombed the SAT II’s as a result of the ski trip. But no one can persuade me it wasn’t worth it. I had the best time of my life.
The rest of the school year went kind of the same way. I was so happy. Each day, was a challenge in my classes but afterwards it was worth it. My new classes were Select Choir, AP History, Creative Writing II, and Anatomy and Physiology. These classes weren’t very hard.
Select Choir was great. Katie Ward was in there and she was always fun to be around. We were 2 of the 5 seniors in the class and we kind of had fun with it. I was elected co-director with Rachel Epp, and we began making plans for the choir to attend a competition in Myrtle Beach. I really liked the music we were singing. It offered a challenge and the teacher was young and she really seemed ambitious. This class also gave me a little bit of free time to finish up the 18 million hours of homework from AP History. I also met a few underclassmen that were really nice like: Ashleigh Hull, Kelly Thomas, and Christina. We sounded better than we had before despite the younger group and the lack of male voices. I knew we would have fun.
AP History was the thorn in my side for my second half of senior year. It was the most difficult class I’d ever taken. Mr Pekarek was insane with the amount of work he gave us. Not only that, but he was very intimidating in class and tended to make fun of us when we got an answer wrong. This really pushed me to study and I ended up making good grades in this class.
Creative Writing II was the highlight of my day. Not only was Jeremy M. in this class but Jimmy was in it too. I loved just sitting there and talking with them. They made me smile every day, no matter how bad. Jimmy was soo supportive and quickly became one of my most relied on friends and confidantes. He’d always been a special person but during Creative Writing, he really became a good friend. Jeremy M. was the object of my affection during this period of my life. My crush on him had grown so much and I found myself not being able to be sad when he was around. He was so nice and caring and no matter what he made me laugh. He had so much talent in Creative Writing and was never afraid of what the other people in the class would think (something I really struggle with). He had also been with me through Creative Writing I and we were allowed to write about whatever we wanted. It was a great class and I hardly ever left with a frown on my face.
After Creative Writing, Jeremy and I would walk to Anatomy which was another great class. Not only was Jeremy in there but the other one was too. Not to mention Katie!! I really tried to fail Anatomy by talking during movies and playing with the Jeremies when I should have been doing my work, but Ms. B didn’t let that happen and I somehow managed a B despite our defuncto skeleton of Jeremy Cannon, my hot pink neuron, and the various worksheets that just didn’t get turned in because I’d been passing notes on the back of it.
Every day after school, we’d head to the parking lot and have a little bit of quality time with the boys. Jennie would often join us and it was just a really good time. We’d play wrestle and fight and just joke and laugh and let the tension of the school day flow out until we had to head to the tension of home or work or homework or whatever lay ahead. Those were good times.
January soon turned into February and February into March. Life was going well for me. I was doing well in school despite a mega-case of senioritus. April was a monumental month. I turned 18 and found out which schools I was accepted to.
My 18th birthday was wonderful. I’d spent the weeks before my birthday awaiting the birthday where I could buy lottery tickets! I’m a lottery fanatic. My parents were going on a cruise the week of my birthday and I was a little bummed that they wouldn’t be there for my first adult birthday. I was going to stay with my Aunt Sandy. My birthday turned out to be really amazing. Mom and Dad had given Aunt Sandy money to buy me a cake and pizza and she told me to invite my friends over to enjoy it all. At school that day, I had received flowers from my parents, balloons from Katie and Aunt Debi, and a very unique present from the boys. After school, Katie, Jeremy, Jeremy, Josh, and Jimmy came with my to my aunt’s house where we chilled, ate cake and just vegged out and celebrated my birthday. It was really a happy moment.
The same week I found out that I’d been accepted to James Madison University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Virginia Tech. I knew VCU wasn’t for me though they did offer me a scholarship. I ended up flipping a coin and deciding on Virginia Tech (mainly because I knew people who were going there i.e Katie, Seth, Mary, Martha, Jameson). Things looked like they were going really well. I still had a huge crush on Jeremy Moran that was growing by the minute.
Prom time rolled around and once again I was without a date. I’ve never been really good with guys but I guess its every girls dream to have her prince charming whisk her off to her senior prom, but that didn’t become a reality for me. All of the boys had “hot” dates so I was left to go with my friends. It didn’t end up being so bad, but it wasn’t exactly what I’d wanted. I’d wanted to go with Kelly, but that fell through at the last minute as do most of my brilliant ideas
Much to my surprise, the night was relatively perfect. Mike made my Cinderella dreams come true when we all went out in a limousine to Washington DC and then went to a fancy restaurant and finally arrived at the prom (fashionably late as usual). The only hitch was my parents are way too smart to let me go out after prom, but I didn’t let it spoil the memory. I ended up having had a really good time.
Not much happened the rest of May, except that I found out that Keri was pregnant. This one was a semi-shocker to me. I was very happy for her yet still worried about her. I have to admit I didn’t like her boyfriend at first. I’m not sure why but I really distrusted him, but he takes care of her now and I respect him. I was really excited to see my little 120 lb Keri get larger as the baby grew.
June came quickly with work and school and preparations for college. I decided to quit my job at Cato and work for the Virginia Cooperative Extension Office because it pays better and it was a full time job. My boss at Cato was very unhappy about this and ended up making me an offer to stay on the staff and work when I felt like it. I couldn’t refuse that. So I went into the summer with 3 jobs.
Graduation came before I knew it. Kel came up for graduation and it was wonderful to see him again. Same old Kel except things were even more wonderful when I was with him. Who knows? Maybe time does change people and my inner growth made me respect him more. Graduation didn’t leave a real impact in my head. I don’t really remember it. I thought I would cry, but the actual ceremony and afterward didn’t seem real. I remember Mrs. Muncie’s stupid speech that was the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. I remember someone behind me playing game boy. It just seemed like a waste of time. Afterwards, I remember hugging a lot of people, but I didn’t know who anyone was because I was trying to find my mom. I guess school was just finally over and I didn’t think about the fact that that was the the last time I would see some of those people. My high school life was complete.