I'm sitting, writing on my old chorale teacher's computer because I cannot think of a better time to write this. It's become a whole different world. It's not the same old people you used to see every day that you would talk to at lunch and with whom you would share funny stories that you'll remember for years to come. They're the same kids, but they're not the same. They've grown up a little, they've fallen in love, or they've come out. They've changed their outlook on life because they've been introduced to new ideas and new ways to look at a simple problem.
They're scholars, world changers, much different than you were. And you're so proud of them. You think, "Wow. My little ones have all grown up." And you miss them.
You miss sharing ideas and stories with them. You miss the team dinners, the hell weeks and the days you spent helping them with their chemistry homework because they got stuck with the worst teacher and you rocked it the previous year. You miss the prom nights and the long nights at the football games. You missed opening night where you were a lead or a background character but you loved it just the same. You miss your school newspaper for which you loved to write and share new ideas. Or maybe you don't miss anything from high school; you just miss the people.
You start to realize how simple everything was. No paying for books or classes. Or useless classes that had nothing to do with anything you wanted to do in your life (I'm talking about you, trig). High school was a vacation compared to college.
Yeah, at college, you're typically not up there for eight hours a day sitting in a classroom with a pre-designed class schedule you change at the bell, with lunchtime mixed in somewhere. You're more free, you're discovering who you truly are. And you realize the person you thought you were in high school isn't the person you discovered you were in college. You're widely different, and that's OK.
The biggest misconception of high school is that you have to decide right then and there what you're going to be and what your life is going to ultimately end up to be. There's no big, scary monster that is going to end you and say you'll never amount to anything if you don't know exactly what your plan of life will be by the time you walk the stage at graduation.
Yes, visiting is a whole different world. You really don't know what you're getting yourself into until you walk in and you realize your spot is gone. The old place you sat in math class now has a new student and your lunch table has been overtaken by a new group of friends.
It's not the same, but you'll always have the memories you made, now matter how much you or the place changes.
