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Ten years gone.



This week marked ten years since I graduated from high school. Sometimes cliches are true - time really does fly.

 Ten years is a long time - over a third of my life - but the years since walking across that stage have flown by to the point where it's almost impossible to think about everything that has happened in between now and then.

 I've earned two degrees and work in the field in which I studied. I've lived in Philly, Richmond, and Chicago. I've traveled. I've voted. I've loved. I've lost. 

 The period after high school has brought about tremendous change for myself and my peers, as it should. From teenager, to adolescent, to young adult, to a [somewhat] mature adult, I've progressed through the most impactful years of my life and have learned about myself and others on my path to becoming who I'm destined to be.

 Peers change. Interests change. Jobs change. Residences change. Outlooks change. We all change - it's how we evolve. But strip away the material things, the discretionary income, the education - have I changed? 

 I'll dive into that another day, but here's what hasn't changed:

  • My best friends from high school remain my closest friends
  • My sense of adventure
  • My thirst for knowledge
  • My sarcasm
  • My independence
  • My love of the environment
  • My belief in the power of music
  • My creativity / appreciation of art
  • My honesty

Money, education, and material things can change a lot of things in ours lives, but what's important will always remain steadfast through the dawns of change. That's what makes us unique.

 Ten years gone, a lifetime of growth and learning to come.

 ----

 Blind skies of fortune, each have several rays
On the wings of maybe, down in birds of prey
Kind of makes me feel sometimes, didn't have to grow
But as the eagle leaves the nest, it's got so far to go.

 -Robert Plant
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