10 Years Is A Long Time

The other day at work, I saw someone I went to high school with. I had not seen that guy since I graduated. When I saw him, it dawned upon me how much time has passed. It's been 10 years since I graduated high school.

I don't associate with any of the people I went to high school with now. There are a few reasons for that. For one thing, I didn't have any good friends in high school. I knew and connected with a decent amount of people (especially considering that in general, I'm shy) but I never hung out with them after school or over the summer. I saw them at school, talked with them, and that was it.

Also, I graduated in the days before social networks. Hell, I didn't own a real computer of my own until I went to college. It's a lot easier to keep in touch with people now if you want to.

Frankly, I didn't really like high school that much. I went to a small Catholic school from K-8 and it was a jarring experience for me to go to a large public high school. I got picked on somewhat throughout my time there and many people made assumptions about me.

The guy who I saw at work was actually one of the people who did pick on me a bit. In hindsight, nothing he did was really that bad. However, considering that I was quite unhappy in high school and that I had no real friends, it was really annoying at the time.

Whenever you see movies with high school reunions, the general rule seems to be that the nerdy guys change for the better and the douchebags remain douchebags. The guy I saw at work was surprisingly easygoing towards me compared to the way he was in high school. People can and do change. Ten years is a long time.