Ten years ago TOMORROW I graduated from college.
TEN YEARS.
In some ways, it seems like just yesterday that we were tooling around Meadville stressing out about what we were going to do over the weekend and if we'd finish our comps. Those were the days...
In other ways, college seems like a lifetime ago. Its hard to remember to remember what day-to-day life in our ugly brown house (fondly known as Idaho) was like or how we dreaded waking up at 5am to get to the pool for morning practice.
In honor of our 10 year anniversary of graduating from college, I have put together two top 10 lists. Today I will share my top 10 highlights since college. Tomorrow, I'll share my top 10 favorite memories from college.
Without further ado...
MY TOP 10 LIFE-HIGHLIGHTS SINCE GRADUATING FROM COLLEGE (in random order):
1. Keeping in touch with my college roommates and watching them get terrific jobs, marry wonderful and caring men, and raise beautiful babies. It is hard work keeping up with these ladies since we live miles apart and don't see each other on a daily basis. Blogging has been a great way to stay connected. We also had a ladies weekend last fall together that I hope we keep a tradition.
2. Marrying D.
3. Having K. This accomplishment is two-fold: first, actually giving birth to her is an accomplishment in its own right. Being a mother to her is an accomplishment unto itself.
4. Finishing my masters.
5. Getting into and working towards my PhD. A sub-highlight was passing my comprehensive exams less than three months after having K.
6. Traveling. Since college I've been to: Paris, London, Taiwan, Costa Rica, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Alaska (twice!!), Mexico (cruise), Boston, NYC (too many times to count), Colorado, the Grand Canyon, and New Orleans, to name a few places. I'm traveled with wonderful people, eaten some exceptional food (post on the best meal of the past 10 years should and will be written), and made memories to last a lifetime.
7. Moving to two different cities ON MY OWN. Right after college I moved to Atlanta for two years and then to DC. Moving to a new city without friends or a support network is hard. It is humbling, scary, exciting, and life-changing. Although it wasn't always easy, I'm so glad I had the opportunity to do it twice.
8. Settling down in DC. This process began when I befriended three terrific ladies - Ang, Ace, and Becky. They became my DC family and my reason for staying here. D and I are more settled now that we own a home and are raising our baby here.
9. Completing an Olympic distance triathlon, three marathons, one 1/2 marathon, and two 10-mile races. Not bad for a girl who during college thought anything over a 100 yard swim was too long of a distance to race!
10. Growing up. I've come a long way these past ten years. I look back at the girl I was with my new VW ten years ago and I think she didn't have a clue! Sure, I was driven and I was poised to do great things, but I had a lot to learn. I had no idea that the road would have take me to some really high mountain tops and also to some low valleys. I had no idea that the path would be so winding. But I wouldn't change a thing.
Its been an amazing ten years.
10 YEARS.
Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. ~Ferris Bueller
6 comments:
Great post. I was just thinking the other day about how far we've come since 2nd Hulings, which was 1996, so 14 years ago. We have grown up so much since then. I was such a moron!
Now you've got me thinking....
P.S. Idaho was *gorgeous.* And *I* never had to get up at 5 a.m. for swim team practice. Remember our land line answering machine messages?
Oh, I am definitely going to have brainstorm a college memory post now!!!! I am sad to admit I didn't realize it was 10 years tomorrow. WOW.
Jildo, you weren't a moron, you were HYSTERICAL! :) We were all young and ridiculous then.
I still have dreams about swimming forever and ever and ever. . .Maybe they're nightmares. :)
I am so incredibly nostalgic right now. When did we get so old?
Also, I don't recall our Idaho answering machine message, although I know our sophomore year message was, "I'm the macaroni WITH the CHEESE!!!"
I remember the "macaroni with the cheese" message!!!
I loved this post. The point about moving to a different city on your own resonated with me! This encouraged me to look back on the last two years after graduating college and do a little reflection of sorts on my own. Also loved the part about traveling, esp to my new home - Bay Area!
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