Remember those days when as children
our only cares were can we go out and play with our friends? Can we go to the
beach tomorrow? Can anyone spend the night? Man, I miss those days. I remember
when I was in the first head start program that was offered in this state,
that’s where I got my first concussion. I remember my mom trying to get me in
school when I was four because I was already reading; she was told I had to be
five by a certain date. Woot, woot, thank goodness for January birthdays! Those
days I was living in the town of East Chicago Heights. We didn’t know we were
poor in that town, we just knew life was good.
The one constant in those days were
the friends I had at school. We started kindergarten together and graduated eighth
grade together. Something I didn’t
realize until I was much older is the fact that a lot of people still have some
type of relationship with the people they started grade school with. These were
the friendships that were formed before the quirkiness of hormones kick in, before
puberty struck. Your personalities and beliefs are carved out of the same
institutional stone and you come to the realization that you really haven’t
changed that much from when your tiny little feet walked through that
kindergarten door and the collective tiny voices first learned the pledge
together.
It seems no matter what other people
we all meet later in life, those that started grade school together still have
a bond. By the time you hit that huge high school hallway and meet other
people, hormones have kicked in full gear and puberty has started reshaping
that nice little demeanor you used to have. No longer are you protected by the
small groups you’ve known since you were five. You’ve entered a cesspool of
personalities that have converged in a new world where everyone struggles for
some type of attention. Life just started to really suck. In my case, I saw
people I hadn’t seen since I was ten and boy were they different. I went to a
different high school than my grade school friends. A lot of them got to stay
together in high school, I had one person go to the same school; and that
person ended up transferring out.
Fast forward through life and look
at the life you’ve led. You may keep in touch with the people you went to high
school with, but sometimes you get hit with a dose of reality; they’re still
the same way they were when you all walked the same crowded halls. By this time
in your life, you may have reconnected with your grade school buddies. A light
bulb goes off over your head, there’s something about returning to where you
started, even if it’s only in the realm of your mind. There’s a familiarity
that is very comfortable. The conversations are all about catching up and
pictures of the kids. Reconnecting with the pre-pubescent part of your life
also puts a lot of things you had at the back of your mind in better
perspective.
Think about this; are you more
likely to react to bad news about your high school classmates or grade school
classmates? For me I would honestly have to say anything relating to my grade
school classmates would resonate stronger. I guess because we are a group of
people that have known each other at face value, prior to putting on our
individual masks we wore to get through high school. We are at the age to where
we are experiencing losses in our lives that we never thought of when we were
younger. When you come from a small school and you hear bad news from your
classmates, it will hit you a little harder. Coming from a small school affords
you the chance to have a second family and when part of that family goes
through issues, it is felt by all.
Before puberty strikes should be
called “life at face value” Those that have known you during those times saw
you being the best and worst of yourself. You struggled learning the same
things in classes. You shared grade school crushes together and, in my case, we
got our first taste of wine together. Yep, only in a private school can you
expect an adult to legally contribute to the delinquency of a minor and put it
under the guise of the Bible. Hey, that wine was pretty good!
Even though I hate the school I went
to, I do have to admit, that was definitely my foundation to rest my butt on
and the cornerstone to model my life from. In that crappy environment, I
learned my values. I learned to treat others the way I wanted to be treated. I
learned that any one of my grade school friends are a phone call or an email
away and we can pick up a conversation like we were still together. Now, that’s
not saying I don’t appreciate the people I’ve gotten the pleasure to know since
grade school, it’s been a fun ride for sure. I’m just saying that there’s
always time to reflect on those that knew you before puberty struck. ~Just my
two cents
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