For the last year, I’ve been keeping a list of what people in my high school graduating class are up to. Almost all of the information came from our glossy alumni bulletin. Some people I've kept in touch with or heard about through the grapevine. Why do I do this… masochism, humor, amazement perhaps? I don't think this represents a normal slice of the population:
“A” took a job in the Department of Homeland Security as an Assistant Director. “A” used to work in the Vice President’s office.
“B” was just appointed president of the Board of Directors of a Girls Foundation in CA.
“C” has moved to Barcelona, Spain.
“D” has a role in an off-Broadway musical with Val Kilmer. “D” will also be in the long-awaited remake of ‘Pulp Fiction’ that started shooting in August.”
“E” has two books coming out soon; a children’s book and a cultural history.
“F” just got married in Kennebunkport, Me. She’s an editor at The New Republic and he works for U. S. News & World Report.
“G” is living in Kiev, Ukraine and just completed a rather large real estate investment deal.
“H” is a reporter for The Wall Street Journal Saturday edition. “H” also has a one-year-old daughter.
“I” recently left the government to do research for a major investment house.
“J” recently climbed to the summit of Mt. Rainier. “J’s” job includes travels to India and Africa to improve water and sanitation in rural areas.
“K” recently started a new job as a portfolio manager at an investment bank.
“L” just graduated with an MBA from the University of Chicago and took a safari in Africa.
“M” is an assistant professor at Connecticut College.
“N” had twins.
“O” just finished two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in rural Botswana and is starting medical school.
“P” had a son and is now the head of a private middle school.
“Q” an heir to one of the largest corporations in the world is living and working in Chile and just got married.
“R” is an actor doing voice-over work for “Family Guy” who produces and directs music videos and movies.
“S” is a pediatrician.
“T” is a fellow in Infectious Diseases and will spend the next 2 years doing research in Senegal, West Africa.
“U” is an artist who paints and teaches in Rhode Island.
“V” is an ensign in the US Navy.
“W” is a poet and a visiting professor at various universities.
“X” is a professor at Yale and just published a monograph on rhetorical theory.
“Y” is a lawyer.
“Z” is a New York City policewoman.
Note: not bad for Costco flowers, huh?
3 comments:
Let's not forget that life is a bit easier for those with large trust funds and spectacular connections. At least you are your own person and responsible for your own successes (and failures).
i bet if you chose one or two sentences to describe your life it would sound as fabulous as theirs: "juniper is living in california with her husband, a world famous scientist. having received a degree in architecture and working for a major arcitechtural firm in the bay area, she is now focusing her efforts on outreach and education for bay area youth." anything can sound awesome when you leave out the details.
juniper:
the grass is always greener.
remember that these are the same people whose lives looked so grand and perfect in the glossy pages of our yearbook. but remember that in reality, the gloss was more like schlak. ok, so i can't spell. but you get what i mean. it's all a veneer, a facade, a farce. half of them probably are divorced or have receding hair lines or do what they do not because it inspires them but because it's just what they ended up doing.
my approach to this dilemma, as it instills in me all those old feelings of inferiority, is to just not read those things anymore. ignorance is bliss, or at least just perpetual ignorance. :)
another anonymous mom:
not all of us have trust funds. not all of us have spectacular connections. we are, all of us, responsible for our own successes and failures.
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