Friday, January 30, 2009

"The Best Time of Your Life"

"You need to cherish these moments... this is the best time of your life."

The first time I heard those words in high-school, the word shit crossed my mind, along with a myriad of other unmentionable words. A smartass answer came tumbling out of my mouth - "Well if it only goes downhill from here, I should probably just kill myself now." I remember hearing this bit of wisdom from my dance team coach after I had dealt with an unruly teammate and was on the verge of throttling the next person who spoke to me.

Really? High school is supposed to be the nest time of your life? Those awkward days of learning to drive, trying desperately to fit in, obsessing over my weight, and contemplating duct-taping my ta-tas down because of the unwanted attention they brought me - raging hormones and constantly fearing I would be an outcast forever with no date to prom was not really what I considered fun. I was so happy when I could finally leave that place. I practically tap-danced across the stage to get my diploma, and when we walked out the doors as graduates, I promptly tore off my gown to reveal a white miniskirt over tan legs with a low-cut top and cleavage galore - my final, "see ya later, haters!" as I left all the people who snubbed me behind. Don't get me wrong, I have great memories from high school. I had plenty of friends, and I miss every one of them to pieces, even now. But that part of me is over, and I would never go back there, even if I could.

College was so much better. I probably could have stayed there forever - going to parties, making friends with random people, and laughing at that guy who always had a little too much fun the night before and came to class hungover. Me and some friends use to play "guess the Greek" during rush week where we would gauge a girl by her clothes, friends, and snobbishness and try to decide which sorority she would get to join. Blonde meant phi-mu. Rich meant a-d-pi. Lots of friends telling you how pretty you are meant chi-o. And being completely normal meant alpha-gam - those were the girls I was friends with. They didn't snub you for your non-Greek-ness or for wearing Old Navy instead of Calvin Klein, and they generally threw the best parties anyway.

But I think even in college, I wasn't genuinely happy. I was relieved to be finished with it, degree in hand, and not having any more homework to deal with. Certainly, I have some for my MBA, but it's not near the workload I had then. And I think, even now, even though I'm completely broke and don't have as many friends as I used to, I think I am the happiest. I have joy in knowing that the few close friends I have really love me for who I am, even with all my flaws. I'm with the love of my life - soon to be married, and I have learned more about myself in the past few years than I ever could have imagined.

So maybe if someone told me today to enjoy my time now because this is the best time of my life, I might believe them. But I would never for one day have a do-over because I have faith that things will only get more awesome.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

High school was only the best time of life for certain people, which is sad because that means the rest of their lives won't be so good. ;) I couldn't wait to get out of that place, with all it's immaturity and cliques. Sadly I found out that the immaturity and cliques don't disappear once high school and college are over. So it's important to hold onto good friends whether they are old or new! They are the key to getting through the rough spots in life and they are the ones you want to celebrate the good times with. :)

Anonymous said...

No kidding, if I heard anyone tell a high school kid that these are the best days of his life, I would be sure to tell the kid that the speaker is a moron. The best years are to come! I'm 29 and to be totally honest, it just keeps getting better because I know a little more of what I'm doing every day.

Maki said...

My high school years were definitely not the best time of my life. It was fun, but if anything, I would want to go back and start over... My life would have been so much different if I could knew better English then...

DEL said...

If high school was the best time of my life, I was robbed!

MJ said...

Teeni - So true! (About all of it!)

Janelle - Seirously, it seems like every day is better than the next.

Maki - I can imagine that was tough. I definitely could have done some things differently, but I don't think I would relive it.

DEL - :)