Class of 95 Revisited, Reflections from 20 Years.

It's been a week of reflecting on my 20th class reunion.  It was a surreal experience.  I hadn't been back to my home town since 2002. We stopped by briefly before moving to Phoenix,  and I haven't been back.  I saw the house I grew up in,  the Community College I attended,  my first apartment.  I saw how my home church has grown and expanded,  I saw the tree where my parent's ashes were sprinkled. I saw a lot of people I haven't seen in a long time.

The day of the reunion started with a tour of the old high school.  High school was an improvement in my life.  Middle school was horrible,  wasn't it for everyone?  I matured slowly,  I was awkward even into high school.  I never dated,  I was more shy.  High school is a great social experiment where everyone tries to figure out who they are,  just to graduate and become someone else. I know I became someone else.

Here I am,  20 years removed from High School with people I went to school with.  It was amazing to see them all,  everyone had done great things. We grew up,  figured out how to treat each other,  many of us had kids and have tried to teach them how to treat each other.  We have had good times and bad times and figured a few things out. I think more than anything we all learned the important of relationships and community.  High school is full of small little groups of people who socialize exclusively because the world is small to high schoolers.  My world was FCA.  I found my place in FCA,  as the non-athletic guy I was passionate about my faith,  still am.  I was all about making FCA awesome,  and I had a great time with it. My world was small,  my community was small. As I have aged,  my world has gotten bigger and my communities have become much more.

The class of Green River High School 1995 is scattered across the United States. Most of us stuck closer to the west,  but we are scattered.  I am thankful for social media that we can still connect. The community of the class of 95 definately means more to me now than ever before.  It's a group that understands me more than many because of the shared experiences. The football games,  the classes,  the teachers and the building. We have a shared past,  a time of life that shaped us so much and we will always have that connection.  I have more grieved that I have lost touch with so many,  friends that were good friends who I don't even know how to contact. Hopefully some day our paths will cross.

Thanks class of 95 for a great reunion.  If you asked me 20 years ago if I would have had such a great time,  I would have been more skeptical.  I was unsure back then,  I didn't really know who I was or what I was doing.  I still don't know what I'm doing,  but I know who I am. Looking back at who I was has helped me understand that even more.  I am glad I got to see you all,  my prayer is that God continues to keep our community together.  Here's to the next 20.