Changes

I've been thinking lately about all the changes that have happened to me since graduating from high school WAAAAAAY back in 1991. I've been kind of reflective lately due to all the talk on the Yada forum between GreeneyeZZ and FosterDad. Those two old fogies are classmates from Syracuse and are planning their 25th class reunion. So I was thinking about how I'm different (and hopefully better) now compared to when I was in high school.

In no particular order of importance:

• I certainly have much less hair now. I remember at one point, my hair was long enough in the back that I could grab it in my fist and a couple inches would stick out of the end. Now, the longest hairs on my body are in places like my armpit, my ears, and the crack of my ass!
• I have more hare now. I used to weigh 145 pounds in high school and had a size 28" waist. Now, I weigh about 175 pounds and have a size 32" waist. Man, I'm porkin' out! What happened to my girly figure?!?!
• I don't wear glasses any more. Back in 1998, I had laser PRK surgery done to correct my eye sight. That's the best $4,000 I ever spent. Anyone who wears glasses or contacts knows how much a pain in the ass they can be.
• I'm more confident in myself - physically, intellectually, and emotionally. Even though I lost my girly figure and most of my hair, I'm more confident in my looks than when I was in high school. Honestly, I think that confidence came from the changing attitudes of women than myself. No one wanted to go out with the class nerd in high school (even though I was and still am a cool guy). But as I grew older and girls realizes that most of those guys were jerks, they started giving more of their attention my way.
• My political views have changed. Oh, I'm still a Democrat and a Liberal at heart, but I've become more conservative on some issues. And it's not so much that really. I'm just more in tune with the fact that we can't spend every single dime on causes like the environment or eliminating poverty (even though those are great causes). One example would be the space program. In high school, I thought we should spend more money on the spave program and would name all of its benefits. Now, the space program is of very low priority to me. There's just too many other important causes out there that need more immediate attention.

I'm sure there are plenty of other changes that have happened since high school. But as a result of this exercise, I realize that I'm still quite the same person I was in high school.

And that's a good thing.