30 Takeaways From My 30th High-School Reunion

Looking back through a 30-year-old lens gives me clarity bathed in gold dust.

I pray you leave this post a little richer and that you are inspired to go on a hindsight treasure hunt of your own.

30 Takeaways From the 30th High-School Reunion:

1) Hindsight is NOT actually 20/20.

2) All of our filters are fractured and fresh.

3) If we sift for gold or grit, we will find it.

4) After 30 years, I can confidently say, “The richness of relationships far outweighs any rags of remembrance.”

The cinderblocks of our schools may have made walls and halls, but if they could tell their story:

5) They would laugh out loud.

6) They would be drenched in tears and text anxiety sweat.

7) They would be sticky from little fingers returning from lunch.

8) They would have peeling paint, proof of the projects that once hung, the backpacks that bumped and rested, and banners that once flew there.

9) They would house family secrets and secret crushes.

10) They would celebrate random acts of kindness and occasionally sport the latest high-school romance graffiti – tiny hearts containing 2 sets of initials bound by a PLUS sign.

11) They would have witnessed miraculous metamorphosis and contain vaults of excellence.

12) They would give failure the “Teacher of the Year Award”; because those lessons that once felt fatal have proved to be the fairy dust dreams are made of.

13) Every life has experienced loss,

14) Loss of loved ones but still full of love.

15) Loss of jobs but still thriving in life.

16) Loss of dreams but still dreaming.

17) Loss of our minds or our way but still more than ok.

18) Loss of hope but not hopeless.

19) Loss of peace but knowing it’s still possible.

20) Loss of joy but holding on through moments of happiness.

21) Yet, here we are, still standing,

WE ARE MORE THAN STILL STANDING; WE ARE VICTORY MARCHING!

22) We have become brave enough to grieve without giving up.

23) We walk in the freedom to find our next “best moves.”

24) We are inspired to dream new dreams or look at old ones with new eyes.

25) We are vulnerable enough to make our mental health a priority.

26) We are humble enough to ask for directions or help and actually take it.

27) We are crazy enough to freefall when necessary, reminding ourselves of the hope we hold onto.

28) We are able to say NO and we know when, why and how to say YES.

29) We are strong enough to embrace internal calm in the midst of external chaos.

30) And we are wise enough to now know that gratitude truly is the root of all joy.

We often do not go looking for something until it is lost. This has been a 30-year treasure hunt worth taking, one I would have lost had I not gone looking!

The past was rich; the present is pregnant with possibility and THE BEST IS ALWAYS YET TO COME!

Thank you so much to everyone who has taken the journey with me thus far.

And to the class of 1988, I humbly and gratefully salute you! You left beauty marks in your wake that painted priceless pearls on the canvas of my heart, ones I will never take for granted.

#TheseAreTheMoments