I hope this reaches you. I don’t know how else to contact you.
I know we haven’t talked in a while. It’s not like we ended on bad terms or anything — far from it. For me, high school was filled with people in that uncomfortable category known as “acquaintances”. And while we never hung out much outside of school, I still considered you somewhat close for a schoolmate, cause the fact of the matter is that I didn’t hang out with anyone outside of school.
I’m glad I was in the same house as you, and that for part of it, your locker was across from mine. In many ways, I used to look up to you. You were different from everyone, but you fit in everywhere. You carried yourself with a combination of humanity and intelligence. On more than one occasion, you taught me how to be a decent person in a way that my parents never could, without even realizing it I bet.
To be honest, I don’t look back on my days at UCC very fondly. They were awkward and uncomfortable for me. The only person I keep in touch with on a regular basis is John. Aside from him and a few others, I was glad to leave my UCC past behind me. I still think of you from time to time though, whether it’s out of concern or curiosity.
I’m coming to Toronto in a few weeks, and was hoping we could meet up. I’d like to find out what you’ve been up to in the last ten years, because you used to be good at anything you were interested in. Maybe you’ve changed as much as I have. I remember you as a good person, and as I get older, I’m learning that good people are few and far between. I’d like to keep in touch with the ones I’ve been fortunate enough to know.
— Jeff
Sometimes I find myself thinking about people from the past too. I hate the word random. I wonder what’s become of that girl from first grade, if we could have become friends, if we could have celebrated our birthdays together for the rest of our lives. She’s the only one I know (or never got to well enough) personally who has the same birthday as mine.
I actually recovered one of my long ago friends, Robert, by placing a Lost and Found ad on Craigslist. True Story. I have him back now because a third party was googling Robert and connected the two of us when he found him.
@giuli — Yeah, people in your childhood never seem random. It’s as if they’re meant to be a part of your life, as insignificant as that part may be. Maybe it’s because we still remember them.
Personally, I always wonder if they remember us, and whether we played a bigger role than we know.
@Xibee — What an awesome chance. It takes two people to lose a friendship, but only one person to find it again (and sometimes with the help of a third party).
I don’t look back fondly on my highschool days either, not that I had a miserable time then. I really wonder why.
The only highschool friend I still keep in touch with lives in Cambridge, Ont. The irony is he was never my best friend back then, but as I grow older I see him as a kind and honest person, which are few and far between.
Somehow, I think women do a better job at keeping in touch with old friends from school days.
Some parts of life a simply uneventful. I find it’s the same way with people too. I only remember the names of significant ones, even though faces stay with me.
As we get older and reflect on our younger days, I think we grow to appreciate those whom we took for granted at the time.