1/30/2002 – Robert

            Holy shit…  I have been packing my possessions because I’ll be moving to a new home in a short while from now, and I found a picture from the past.

 
Back: Juliana, Melissa.  Front: Matt, Robert

Anyway, the photo was taken during my 10^th grade year during a morp stomp.  I’m guessing nobody has any idea of what that is, so here it goes.  Morp happens to be an occasion where the girls ask the guys out.  Why exactly we had to wear matching t-shirts is something I cannot recall.  A stomp is similar to a dance, but not quite as formal.  I’m thinking this was 9 years ago, during the fall of 1994. 

Wow, 1994.  That was a long time ago.  Seeing this picture brought back a flood of memories.  Where to begin?  If I recall, we were picked up by Juliana and Melissa.  Melissa was driving… she was also a senior at the time.  This was a setup by Matt’s date, Juliana. 

We played some pool up at Weber State, then we went to the stomp for a while…  this was 9 years ago, so my mind is hazy about parts of the night.  I recall we all had a pretty decent time, but I never did go out with my date again. 

I remember crashing over at Matt’s place at the time.  You remember back when you were a kid, right?  How cool it was to sleep over at your friend’s house?  Well, somehow Matt banged up his shin pretty badly.  It began to swell, I accompanied him while his dad took him to the ER at a nearby hospital.

The picture not only brought back some memories, but it made me realize how much I sometimes miss those years.  I admit, the high school years were insanely awkward, but all we really had to worry about in life was school and the friends that were growing up with us.  I know, I was a depressed kid a lot of the time, but the world was still new, there was still hope for the future, I was still innocent.

Step forward to today, nine years later.  How have I changed?  What do I really have to show for my time?  Maybe I let the years bog me down too much.  I feel that my spirit has been diluted by the modern world, by adult life.  I work in Corporate America ™.  More often than not, I really have to worry about my job, unexpected events in my life, and the crazy world around me.  Back then, nothing around me mattered except for friends.  Now I have the world to worry about (drowning that out would be callous and selfish).

Okay, this picture made me wish I could turn back the clock and do things right for a change.  Since there’s no way in hell that’ll happen, I guess I’ll just have to look towards the future.  I don’t think I want the normal suburban life anymore.  What do I mean by that?  An expensive track house, two cars, 2.5 kids, a wife, a dog, a steady corporate job, etc.  What do I want?  I would like to reduce the amount of responsibility I face.  Maybe over the next two years, I should clobber my debt, move to France, establish a new life out there, photography castles, cathedrals, and gorgeous models, and not have to put up with the drudgery of living a normal life.  I just want to be happy, care-free, jaunting around Europe with a nice girl at my side…