It All Started in Eighth Grade

I can't believe I am 55 years old! The past 43 years have flown by, just like my 8th grade social studies teacher told us would happen on our first day back to school after summer break.  He asked us if we thought summer vacation went by fast.  Pretty much everyone nodded their heads in agreement.  He then went on to tell us something that would stick with me for the rest of my life.  He said that the next two years of junior high school are going to go by very quickly, and we will suddenly find ourselves a half foot taller and sitting in a high school classroom.  Then before we know it, we will be walking across the stage at graduation, wondering where the years went.  When he said those words, I remember feeling kind of sad.  I thought, well, this is just HIS opinion.  I vowed that I will be different...I won't let that happen to me, I will make time go by slowly.  I didn't want to grow up and graduate already.  I was still just a kid!  My social studies teacher was a middle aged man, obviously a smart man in my eyes, and he had experience in this matter because of his age.  He went on to say that as we get older, life will seem to go by even faster with each passing year.  Boy, was he right.  I walked out of the classroom that day with the intention of proving him wrong.  Unfortunately, before I knew it, I was standing on stage at graduation waiting for my name to be called, and I realized my social studies teacher was right on.  And here I am now, just a few short years later, and I'm already 55.

First year of high school.