A trip down memory lane... An out of body experience

I alluded to this in my last post, but while I was home this summer, I pulled out my old yearbooks, for a little trip down memory lane.

And oh man did it take me back.  In a big way.

My diet in high school pretty much consisted of Ben and Jerry's, cookie dough, quesadillas, and pudding. 

I enjoyed it so much that I did it twice, the second time including two of my best friends from high school, sushi, and two pints of ice cream.  I hadn't laughed that hard in a long, long time!

Let me just give you a little taste of what my high school experience was like, as told by the words of my classmates.

Freshman Year:

I looked like this unfortunately:

And even more unfortunately, this picture is forever saved in print in my Freshman yearbook

And yet boys still wrote things like this in my yearbook:

"Amanda, you are too cute for your own good."

"You got long legs, girl.  Hopefully they are going to grow a little longer."

"What up girl, It's been great having you on the team (track team).  We always need more pretty girls"

"To the other track hottie, Amanda.  See ya next year."

And my personal favorite:

"What a sexy, funky girl you are!  You're very obnoxious, I mean, hilarious."

I guess it was slim pickings on the track team that year.  Remind me again why I quit sophomore year?

Speaking of...

Sophomore Year:

I sat next to Shiloh Fernandez in math that year.  Shiloh Fernandez is now a famous actor and spends his time doing things like making out with Selena Gomez on TV.  Here's what he wrote in my yearbook that year:

"Amanda- Hey thank you for letting me copy in math.  You are very cute and it was cool getting to know you."  He even left me his phone number.

Take that Selena!  He was mine first, and it only cost me my math homework a couple times.

But then another boy in the same class wrote this:

"You are such a beautiful person.  But by the way, how many channels do you get on those?"  In reference to my ears.

Easy come, easy go.  Thanks.

And finally an anonymous person wrote this:

"Amanda, when you go to MORP tonight, think about Wonder Woman, because she is a hotty."

Thanks, unidentified friend.  I'm sure I didn't.

onto

Junior Year:

Junior Year is the year I got my driver's license and acquired the reputation of being somewhat of a crazy driver and devout Mormon.  As shown by this little note:

"You're just the craziest driver!  Have a sweet, hardcore sex life after your religion lets you."

Thanks, I do.  ;)

There were also a few other random notes like:

"To a beautiful girl and the creator of the waistlet..."

Not sure what a waistlet is, but thank you!

and how could I leave out this gem:

"I will always be your schizophrenic, paranoid, crippled, cerebral polsy-ic little brother."

I think this was in reference to a play I was almost in, but I'm not 100% sure on that one.

and finally

Senior Year:

The final opportunity for my beloved friends to impart their last words of love, support, advice, and remembrance to me.

Here's a sampling of what my friends thought these parting words should be:

"Amanda, you have a nice scream."

"Amanda, Of course the first thing I must mention is the picking of the berry's and the making of the jam, so you better call me or else."

"If or when we get skin cancer we're going to the same hospital and eating Jell-O!"

"Here's to all the junk food we ate at my house when we studied and all the water we drank and all the water bottles that you had all over the place, in your locker, in your car, in your backpack!  Ahh!  It was like attack of the water bottles!"

"Amanda, Volleyball is the greatest spectator sport."

And finally, my lovely BFF who sent me on scavenger hunts through my yearbook.

"I signed somewhere secret!!  pg 23?"

In all seriousness, my yearbooks were filled with sweet memories, a million inside jokes that all start out like, "Don't ever forget..." of which I can't remember a darn thing about, and loving words from dear friends.

But there were words that made me feel other emotions.  Guilt, sadness, remorse, regret.  I had several friends that needed a whole page to sign in my Freshman yearbook, but by Senior year only wrote a few sentences.  My insides twisted a little bit when I would read words like, "We aren't as close as we used to be..."  And one friend even mentioned how I had been mean to them and ignored them at a school dance and acted "too cool to be seen with them".

It made me think about the person I was, and the person I am, and the person I am becoming.  My legacy, if you will.  What kind of friend am I?  Am I the kind that my sweet friends write pages and pages of good memories about one day and the next have nothing to say?  Or that talk about how I was "too cool" to be their friend.  I sure hope not.  Like I said before, I'm growing up.  I'm learning that relationships are really the only thing that matter in this life.  So today and always I hope I'm the friend that you can count on to be there when you need someone to talk to.  Or that you can enjoy a pint of ice cream and a good laugh with.  Or if you need to, a good cry with.

They say that after high school "none of this matters" meaning popularity, clothes, dances, etc.  and that's pretty much true.  But the kind of person you were, and the kind of person you are, you take with you.  To all my friends both then and now, I hope you know that it did matter, and it does matter, and it will always matter to me to be a good person and a good friend.