I was thinking about this, and my, oh, my what a difference ten years will make. A lot of my friends are starting to do big kid things: get married, become pregnant, get full time jobs, etc. Growing up is weird. Ten years ago I was fifteen and in high school. I knew I would go to college, but I wasn’t exactly sure what the next step was. This blog is a little more personal and a little less about Japan, so if that’s not your cup of tea, whatever.
If you would have told me ten years ago that:
-not making the cheerleading squad was not a big dang deal, I would have told you that you were wrong. I was disappointed with myself about this for a really long time. As it turns out, not making the cheerleading squad has actually zero importance in the real world. 
-I would marry Ian Reed, I would have said, “WHAT???? You mean the kid who’s in detention every week?” Sure, Ian and I were friends in high school, but NEVER in a million years would I have guessed that we would date for six years after high school before marrying in 2010. Best. Decision. Ever. 
-I would still be working off and on at the Parlor for the next eight years, I would have rolled my eyes and sighed. It was a great way to make money during high school and college, but once I graduated, I felt weird still working there. People that I knew kept asking what I was doing there, and I’d have to tell them that I’m teaching during the day, waitressing at night. I made some really great friends with my co-workers, but holy crap, the restaurant industry is not where I want to be for the rest of my life!
-I would change sets of friends multiple times, I would have asked why. It seems like it’s always been very hard for me to keep best friends. I don’t know if it’s me, natural growth and change, or what, but I’ve made and lost best friends several times since high school. I feel like I’m currently in the best situation I’ve every been in friend-wise. I love my friends and despite living on the other side of the world, I still regularly talk to them via skype or facebook.
-I wouldn’t become a famous writer, I wouldn’t believe you. In high school, I thought it would be so easy to write and make money. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! As it turns out, it’s really, really, really, really difficult to actually make money from writing. Since I enjoy creature comforts like eating and NOT living in a cardboard box, the whole writing thing didn’t exactly pan out.
-I would get a useless bachelor’s degree followed my an even more useless master’s degree, I would have asked why would I be that stupid?? My first day of English 099 at Murray State University, Professor Johnson said that English majors could do ANYTHING with their degrees and that employers were looking for creative thinkers. As it turns out, that’s a load of crap. English could quite possibly be the most unemployable degree ever (maybe a tie with history). I thought that I was doing what I loved, and that’s all that mattered, but it turns out that a paycheck also matters. It also turns out that employers don’t really care if you can analyze the heck out of Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” write a 20 page research paper on the the use of imagery in Poe’s works, or write short stories.
-I would use that useless degree to go into teaching, I would have laughed until I cried. In high school, I wasn’t exactly sure what my career was going to be, but I knew one thing……I DIDN’T WANT TO TEACH. I didn’t want to deal with all of the crap that I saw teachers putting up with. It’s weird how things work out, isn’t it?
-I would spend countless hours texting, facebooking, emailing, etc, I would have denied it. All throughout high school and into my college years, my parents had dial-up internet at home. Fast internet was something that I lived without, so why would I ever want to spend hours waiting for someone’s profile page to load? As far as cell phones go, I never thought I’d have one. I didn’t get one until I went off to college, and gradually stepped up from a dippy little nokia to my current Iphone. I <3 my Iphone.
-I would fall in love with being abroad and traveling, I would have said, “huh?” In high school, I had no plans to go abroad. Even at the beginning of college when I heard about study abroad opportunities, I never thought I would take advantage of them. I suddenly became quite a study abroad junkie. I always said that I had no interest in going to Mexico, but where’s the first place I studied abroad? Mexico. I said I had no interest in Spain, yet that’s where I went next. I had no interest in Japan, but where am I currently living? JAPAN! Through each of these programs, I learned how to be independent and adapt to circumstances that would NEVER happen to me had I stayed in the States. Plus, I made really good friends through these programs, and I’ve seen really amazing things.
-I would no longer be the shy kid, I would have said, “yeah, right.” In high school, I was ridiculously shy. I still don’t enjoy being the center of attention, but at least I’m not the loner kid in the back of class! Studying abroad and teaching REALLY helped me come out of my shell. Public speaking used to terrify me, and depending on the crowd/situation I do still get a little nervous, but it’s no where near the depth of terror I had in high school.
-I would live in Japan, I would have said “WHAT??? NO WAY!!!” Never in a million years would I have guessed that I would live abroad………especially somewhere where I don’t speak the native language, lol! In addition, I never thought I’d live this far away from home. I love my family, and I have a wonderful family, so why would I ever leave? I don’t have any regrets! This so far has been one heck of an adventure, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store!!
If you would have told me that all of this would happen to me ten years ago, I would have been shocked and amazed. It’s weird how things that you never think would happen do indeed happen. It makes me wonder where I’ll be in another ten years………..
to be continued……
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