1. Some people never change…even after 30 years. A person who I remember not being able to look you straight in the eye when they talked, still couldn’t. Another who loved being dramatic and the center of attention, still did (and I’m not talking about me! HA!). One who always had the inside scoop about other people, did this weekend, as well. A person I remember as always calm and compassionate, still was. People still drift toward what and whom they are most comfortable.
2. Some people really change. People mostly get more awesome. I believe I made some new friends this weekend—people that I shared a similar location with for three years, but never really knew. I love that Sue, who wasn’t ever in theater, moved to LA, got into comedy and acting and has been on “The Office” and “My Name is Earl.” I loved hearing how Jenny trains dolphins and other animals at the Minnesota Zoo. I love that Tom makes BINGO cards.
3. Most people sleepwalk through high school (and sadly, many continue on after graduation, as well). It’s easy to get busy doing things all the time, like choir, band, drama, sports, student council, etc. A busy person is not an awake person. The key is to wake up. Find out who you are and how unique and awesome God created you to be, and how that can be used to make life better for other people. That might take a while, but be brave. And make time to be quiet, and just listen to your heart, like Roxette said.
4. Sometimes when you have bad memories about a certain time in your life, you have to go back and find out where they came from. And let others remind you of the good ones you have forgotten. This weekend was very healing for me. I had people remind me of who I used to be, and oddly enough, it wasn’t too far off from the person I am today.
5. 80s music is still my favorite. How crazy is it that Omaha has a station that plays 80s music? I could drive around my old haunts and hear the same tunes I used to hear in those same places. Now with iheart.com and Pandora we can all listen to Kenny Loggins, Cyndi Lauper and Duran Duran as much as we’d like. Gnarly, dude.