Isn't it interesting to see yourself and to hear your stories through someone else's perspective? I think that no matter how empathetic, responsible and magnanimous we are/were that as teen-agers we are essentially self-centered beings who are tuned into our own experiences. Largely, I think that this is true of all people. As emotionally well-adjusted adults (I'm assuming a lot, but work with me here...) we of course CARE about others - we know when a friend needs some extra support, we tend to our responsibilities. As parents, our children are our lives and focus - they dominate our schedules and their hurts and accomplishments affect us greatly, but they are a part of *us* and our lives. How many times have we gone about our busy lives and had some sudden memory of "oh yeah - I forgot that her mom just died this summer..." "Oh that's right, he was having surgery, wasn't he?" My belabored point? We all tell our own story - we all play a movie with the same cast but a different script, a different focal point, a different plot twist, story arc, even a different dénouement.  

I often have those "I don't even remember that" moments with my brothers. Something that was profound, important even life-altering for them might not have even made a blip on my radar. And vice-versa. I have had my brothers stare incredulously at my complete lack of memory concerning what was a major event in their lives. Facebook has also brought several such stories from long-lost friends who would say "remember when such and such happened in Mr. Haske's class?" Nope. Well, it sounds like me, but...no. Heck, even comments written in my high-school yearbooks about crazy antics that were undertaken in elementary school or junior high were vague to me. Maybe I just had more crazy antics than other people, maybe I had too much going on in my personal family life (my mom was sick and died right before Junior year,) maybe I smoked too much pot, maybe I lived in my own world. Or maybe, as your blog seems to support to an extent, I was just "normal" - a teen-ager muddling through with my own life, issues, phobias, failures, successes, responsibilities and focus. 

Do we really *SEE* each other in high school after all? Do we really see each other at all in our daily lives? I try to, but we all play our own movie...



P.S. You need to post more pictures, girl! :)