Part 1: Bookends

*I was 18 when the year 2000 began. A lot has happened since then.

The following posts serve as my eye witness account to the past ten years.
I hope you enjoy my slice-of-life history.

------------------------------------------------

BOOKENDS

Time it was, and what a time it was, it was
A time of innocence, a time of confidences
Long ago, it must be, I have a photograph
Preserve your memories, they're all that's left.
(Simon and Garfunkel)

I: January 1, 2000
As I look back at these past ten years, my first memory of 2000 is that of good times with old friends, all four of who I am still close with today.

In a true role reversal, my parents had gone out to a big New Year’s Eve party that night. So there we were, the five of us, at my parents’ house, dressed to the nines, sipping sparkling cider and playing taboo. We were 18 (some 17) and that was good enough for us. No boys. No alcohol. Just the meat and potatoes between friends.

When I look back over this past decade, and think of everything that I have experienced, it has become obvious to me that, man, some friends are with you for the long haul.

II: March 21, 2000
Of course, this is not always the case with friendship. Some friends come, and some friends go...in different ways and at different times in our lives. Early on in 2000, March 21st to be exact, my closest friend, my grandma Shirley, passed away. It was totally unexpected, which made it even harder. She was my confidante and my cheerleader. She was someone to laugh with and someone to cry with. I loved her dearly. I always think of her from time to time and in that sense, she’s never truly gone. But oh, if she could see me now!

III: June 8, 2000
I graduated from high school...an elite private school. I will never work that hard again in my life. But I got through it and I was heading off to the college I wanted to go to since I was 12 years old, NYU Film, to fulfill my dream of making movies. Looking back at this time in my life, I shake my head with a smile. To think of all the things that laid before me…

IV: June 10-21, 2000
Europe! The best way to prepare for college! It was a three-week trip and I had one of the best times of my life. I went with Mary Grace, who is the closest I’ll ever come to having a sister. This journey would not have been nearly as exciting without her. We went to London, Dover, Amsterdam, the Rhine Valley (Germany), Innsbruck (Austria), Lucerne (Switzerland), Venice, Florence, Milan, Rome, Nice, Cannes, Lyon (France), and Paris. It was organized through Contiki, adventures for 18-35 year olds.

We traveled from city to city via a tour bus with 40 other people from around the world. Miraculously, we all got along and had a spectacular time. Whitewater rafting through the Alps, boating through the canals of Amsterdam, wine tasting in Germany (which, coincidentally was the first time I got drunk, which I didn’t realize it at first), gambling in Monaco, traveling through Venice in a gondola, riding down the top of a 7000 foot mountain (Mount Pilatus, Switzerland) in a cogwheel train – it’s hard to believe I did all of that and I probably will never get the chance to do any of these things again. That’s what makes it so sweet. That’s also what makes it so bittersweet. Let’s hope to having a once in a lifetime opportunity more than once in a lifetime.

V: August 2000
This was definitely the case with college. It’s four, carefree years of constant fun. I almost don’t know why they bother to keep high schools around because college is one big step back from any sort of responsibility. I regret not exercising my right to skip or sleep through class enough. Because now, when that alarm clock goes off every morning for work, I think, man, why? Why didn’t I sleep through more alarms when I had the opportunity? Most of my classes didn’t start until after 11am and I had three or even four-day weekends. In the real world, your schedule just automatically sucks right after college.