Five Down

July 13 marked the day that the fifth member of my high school graduating class stepped into the shoes of matrimonial bliss. I consider that quite the feat since out of those five, four of them were still single when the diplomas were being handed out.

Sweet mercy, how time flies.

Every time something happens that results in a bunch of my old classmates getting together, I always feel a need to take stock and try to figure out what's changed since 2002. It's not as easy as it seems, because even though it was a small class, it was very easy to lose touch with everybody. So far as I know, five have been married with one of them already with a kid. Two others are engaged (not to each other) and are getting hitched later this year. The majority of those that went to college have already graduated. One is entering his third year in medical school. One is going into his second year in dental school. One is working as a mechanical engineer for Boeing. Three have finished nursing degrees with another one finishing up soon enough. A couple of them are working in business, one works in IT, a couple are working in the maintenance field and another is in meteorology. Two have joined the armed forces (Navy, Air Force) and are still serving. I've got classmates living in Hawaii, California, Iowa, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Seattle, Michigan, North Carolina and of course Illinois.

It has been a little over six years since we were all last seen together. Some things have changed, some things stayed the same, but so far, it seems everyone has done well for themselves. Despite all that has happened in the world and all the personal experiences we each had, we all appear to be moving along with our lives fairly well. God has kept us so far and has shows His great mercy on us all.

This fall, my old high school will be celebrating the first graduating class's ten-year reunion, and with me being part of alumni association this year, I get to be part of the planning of this milestone. So far, it seems that many members from the class of 1998 will be flying in from all over the country for this weekend. Who knows how much they've changed as individuals over the years? Depending on how you look at it, ten years can either feel like eons or flash right in front of you in a matter of minutes.

Four years from now, I myself will be celebrating my own class's ten-year reunion. So much has already changed in six years that it really makes me wonder what the next four will be like. How much more will my friends change? Who's going to be living where, or with whom for that matter? Who's going have a kid? Who's going to get married? Will the ones that are married still be married? Who is still going be alive? These are questions that I don't know the answers to, and I am pretty relieved that I can't answer. But get back to me in four years, and I'm pretty sure I can tell you the answers then.

As for my own stock? I'm a single, 24 year old with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and less than a tiny clue of what I'm going to be doing with my life. I work as a temporary lab technician for an oil company and I am still living at home. I might be going back to school this fall to try to finish up some classes to pursue a masters degree, or I might try to get into pharmacy school. Like I said, I really don't know what to do with my life. What I do know, however, is that like the rest of my class, God has kept me so far and continues to bless me on a daily basis. I can only live on with the hope that God has somethings special in the works for me, and that His plan for me is so much more than I can ever imagine. So, let's see where the next four years will take me.


Class of 2002 graduate Krissy and her dad.