10 Year Class Reunion

Wow...I can't believe that this school year marks 10 years since I was a senior in high school. These last 10 years have flown by. In 10 years, I've met new people, graduated from college, learned some difficult life lessons, and figured out who I am as an individual.

When I first thought about it, the idea of a class reunion seemed really stupid to me. All I could think was "I haven't talked to or seen most of these people in 10 years, why do I want to pay to see them now?" I was not going to go to this little social event because I didn't want to feel "awkward." Well, change of plans. Some of us got an email last year about this time, asking if we wanted to be on the Reunion Committee to help plan this thing. As I read the email, a sudden feeling of guilt came over me. I felt guilty because I had been so negative toward the idea in the beginning, but now I'm being asked to be a part of the planning? How could I possibly say yes to this?  Well, I guess that feeling of guilt became so strong that I caved and said YES!

After meeting for the first time back in February of this year to start the planning process, I realized that a tiny piece of me missed high school. What should have been a meeting that lasted an hour, turned into a 3 hour meeting that was a little bit of planning and a whole lot of laughing about our years at South Florence High School. The people on this committee still live around here for the most part, so I see them every now and then. It's usually just a "hey, how are you" kind of conversation, but for the first time in 10 years, I felt connected to these people again.

We may not have been best friends in high school, but at some point, we all had classes together. We all remember the same people and the same teachers and administrators that made us laugh for all the same reasons. For the first time, I was really excited about my 10 year class reunion.

Facebook has really changed how things work...people used to get really excited about going to reunions because they wanted to see people and see what they were up to. Well, Facebook pretty much does that for us on a daily basis now. I know who got fat (yes, I'm one of them), I know who got married, who has kids, whose kids are potty training and more personal information about most of these people than I would ever care to know. A lot of people are claiming because they see these things on Facebook that they don't need to see their classmates in person...that's a load of crap. Just sayin. The laughter and the memories shared between all of us is totally different in person and SOOOO much fun.

The Committee is really working hard to make this a great reunion. If I remember correctly, the class of 2004 at South Florence was the most spirited class that South Florence had seen in quite a while. We used to beat the seniors for the spirit stick, we drove tractors to school for homecoming week and we decorated and bought some of the coolest t-shirts for pep rallies. And who could forget the prom we planned?

The lack of participation from our class is really disturbing to me. What happened to the spirit our class had? Sure, some of yall have gotten married, had kids, been divorced, married again and have another kid, most of us have jobs that keep us busy and some of us are continuing our education to reach our goals but one Saturday evening in February isn't that much to ask of anyone. Maybe the price is deterring some people from buying tickets. The ticket price for 2 people is $50 this month. That includes tea, water, lemonade, food (including a vegetarian option) and 2 drink tickets. So for $25 a person, you're getting all of that food, plus a nice venue, a GOOD DJ and door prizes. That's the same price you would pay for a dinner out with a friend or significant other.

I've heard that some people are offended by the fact that we will have alcohol. I understand that a lot of people don't drink, but honestly we are all 27, 28 years old. We are legally able to drink alcohol and for the most part, those of us that do drink, do it in a social, responsible manner. We are past our "OMG I can drink, let's see how drunk I can get" stage. Shoot, I don't know about some people, but I can speak for several people that this day in age, after 2 drinks and some social interaction with friends, I'm ready to go to bed...I'm getting OLD. We all go to restaurants and have dinner plenty of times surrounded by people who are socially having dinner and drinks. What's the difference now? NOTHING...the only difference is that this time you're surrounded by your high school classmates. We're all mature adults here. Not to mention, we will have regular drinks as well like water, tea and lemonade.

I've heard a rumor that the price of the tickets is back to "Early Bird Prices" for the month of October in celebration of Homecoming. Those of you that keep saying, "I'm going to buy it, I just keep forgetting"...this is your chance! Buy your ticket now at a great price and come hang out with us in February. I've seen the list of people who have paid for their tickets. It's a fun group of people. There will not be a dull moment. That's for sure.

Hope to see all of your senior pictures show up on Facebook within the next few weeks saying that you've paid :)

Countdown

I'm going to Cabo! After everything I went through at the beginning of the year, the opportunity was presented to me and the deal was so good, that I couldn't turn it down. I had a friend that made me realize how good this was going to be for me and what do you know...Angie was right :)

Here's the kicker...those of you that know me, know that I don't share my birthday (or birthday week for that matter) very well, with anyone!! Well, please notice that June 23 and June 27 are in the same week...

I guess this means that I'm growing up and maturing, because this year and this year only, I am willing to celebrate my birthday with Jason. I'm claiming that it's because I'll be out of the country, but maybe it's because I really like him and care enough about him to be willing to share my birthday week with him ;)

The Ultimate Life Test

This post is very serious, very real and very important for me to blog about. I've decided to finally open up about my life the last few months. I've gotten past the point that I won't feel judged for what I've gone through and I'm ready to discuss it with anyone. If you read this and you haven't heard the story, you're probably going to feel pity for me and say "awww, Devin, I'm so sorry." I don't want your pity. Trust me...I just want to make people more aware.

So my last few blog posts were pretty angry posts. I was mad, angry, upset and hurt by a lot of things at once. This was the start of a very hard, depressing time for me. In my last post, you'll notice that I had been hanging out with this guy. I thought we were friends. I thought things were great. We had the usual argument here and there and I let him say things to me that weren't so nice. I just took it as he's mad. I let him say things to me that were so hurtful and degrading and I never thought twice about walking away. I let him control me and he ended up verbally and emotionally abusing me to the point that I ended up at my rock bottom. He told me how horrible of a person I was, how immature I am, and all the reasons nobody wanted to be with me. All of this started last summer and I just let it continue on...I was brainwashed.

January 3, I came down with the flu. A week and a half later, I was still coughing and was diagnosed with bronchitis. While being sick and out of work, I still let him put me down, call me names and tell me how worthless he thought I was. All of those hurtful words turned to lots and lots of tears on top of all the coughing and hurting. I ended up with pleurisy and in more pain than I ever imagined. So much, that I ended up in the ER. They gave me some pain meds and sent me home.

A few days later, I knew something was seriously wrong with me when I looked at the bottle of Percocet and wondered how many it would take to make all the pain go away, pain from coughing, being hurt by the words...everything.

At this point, I knew I had to talk to someone. I saw my doctor and a counselor and was diagnosed with depression. After several meetings with the counselor and some medication, I finally was "myself" again. Depression apparently can affect ANYONE at ANY age. I realized that I'm not the crazy one. I'm not the worthless one and I'm not the one that really needed help. I'm just the one that got brainwashed into thinking all of those things about me and he is the one that needs help. Soon after all of this, I blocked the crazy guy's number and have not seen or heard from him in months...life is so much better now. I recommend to anyone that is having a hard time, go talk to a counselor. Talking to friends is great, but talking to a stranger who is unbiased and you know won't judge you is so freeing and makes you feel so much better.

With that said, I became closer to my best friends and realized that they have nothing but love for me and only want the best for me. My friends were there when I needed them the most and I will be forever grateful and appreciative for that. Just knowing that I could lay around with my best friend all weekend and watch NCIS marathons with her and not really say anything was what I needed one weekend, and Emily didn't seem to mind one bit. Live you :)

About the time I blocked his number, I met Jason. He could not have been put in my life at a better time. We instantly struck up good conversation and realized we had a lot in common...I mean he is ONLY 4 days older than me. Jason and I have been dating for almost 2 months now and things are going great. He makes me smile more than anyone else has before and he makes sure that I'm happy. He knows my past and is helping me to move past all of that.

Life is so much better now and means so much more to me. I smile more, I laugh more, I talk to my friends more. I had become someone I wasn't and it wasn't fun anymore. I'm just glad I realized it before it got too serious. Now that I'm back to "me," my plan is to lose those last few pounds I need to lose and feel even better about who I am today. And with it being summertime, I'm very excited about having Fridays off and soaking up the sun...yes, I promise to wear sunscreen, but I'm going to need my tan :)