So, it finally came to that point in time during the summer when I need to stop slacking off like my third grade summer self and start working. Yeah, that's right, that point in time when I need to get myself a real(ish) job and start making money to pay back those loans, to buy books next semester, and (this year!) to buy gifts for friends in Tibet. So I worked today.
It was my first day back in the swing of things. I determined that a week and a half off between school and work was sufficient enough. And I really enjoyed the time more than I have in other years, so my "vacation" almost seemed a little too long.
I got the opportunity to substitute at my old high school today for a teacher I never met. This seemed odd to me at first, as I only graduated two years ago! It was pretty neat, though, since I saw some people that I knew from back when I attended the school, most of which were experiencing some serious Senioritis. And yet, there were so many new and different faces!
I wandered around the old hallways during lunch to see if I could bump into any more people I knew from back in the day. Along the way, I got to see artwork from the newer students, and pictures of the annual musical on the wall (I was a total drama and chorus geek back in high school, so this part was really neat for me. I saw all the people who were chorus members when I was a senior that had made their way up to the ranks to the stars of the play.) The bell was ringing for Lunch C as I wandered back, though in my time, there were only two lunch periods. It just amazes me how much a place can change in such a short time, but I suppose the same goes for me. Hardly anyone recognized me.
When I was discussing my trip to Tibet with our professor Jim Hagan, he mentioned culture shock. He said that the people who went on trips with him didn't usually have such a problem getting accustomed to another culture-- it was returning to their old culture that really baffled them. I sort of feel that way about going off to college. You start to learn new ways to think and experience life and there are so many opportunities to learn and explore oneself. By the time you return home, you hardly recognize it, or, perhaps you just view it in a very different way. I went to college having lived in Goffstown since I was three, so perhaps this was a lot more dramatic for me than for most people. Poultney was the first place I had ever been away from home for more than two days without someone I was related to in the next room. Seriously. It's just so weird.
I can't say it's bad though. I mean, the entire experience was just more nostalgic than anything else. Everything grows in its own way, and part of life is accepting those changes. I know I've changed into a much better person in the two years I've been at GMC, as I've had the opportunity to really focus on what I want out of my future career, my life, and myself. I've been given the chance to excell in many different areas of interest as well as the chance to meet some really amazing professors and students who have also helped me understand myself and my needs more. So although I felt like a stranger as I walked down those familiar halls and saw some of those familiar faces, it was still good to know I've been heading in the right direction, and that even with all the change, some of my routes are still in me. And by that, I mean, I'm not missing the high school jazz concert tomorrow for anything!
Well, I guess that's it for now. Just a little bit of nostalgia on a rainy summer day.