Class of 2000 10 years Later

My 10 year high school reunion is tomorrow and it's got me thinking. It seems like just yesterday I was graduating from high school with the whole world laid out in front of me for the taking. So many possibilities, so many unknowns and yet still so sure of myself. I didn't really have a plan but I knew I wanted to go to college and study abroad and hopefully travel the world as a photographer maybe for National Geographic or something. I never really saw myself with someone by my side or as someone who would get married and have children...funny how things work out.
In high school, I had a couple close friends but really tried to be friends with everyone. I was very into photography and was always in the dark room or at sporting events shooting away for newspaper or yearbook. I got decent grades but wasn't at the top of my class by any means. I loved being apart of the Class of 2000 mostly because, hello, it was a cool year to graduate, but also because there were a lot of great people in my class that helped shape the person I am today.
When I graduated I thought photography would be my career but quickly fell in love with politics and ended up majoring in it. My second semester I met Daniel, who quickly became my best friend and as most of you know later became my husband. I did get that chance to study abroad at the University of London like I had always dreamed and it was life changing. But it had a different effect on me than I thought it would. I found an appreciation for home and realized there that I was in love with Daniel and came home and we have been together ever since.
College was, I think where I discovered who I really am and what I really want out of life. I still love to travel, I still snap a few photos here and there but I realized how important family and friends were. It seems that since high school I have created bonds with people who have become my greatest friends and some even like family. In fact, if it weren't for Facebook I probably wouldn't have stayed in touch with anyone from high school besides my best friend Liz.
I remember graduating from college, with my dad serving our country in Iraq and my little brother preparing to do the same and having a much different feeling towards life than I did just 4 short years prior. The world felt smaller and not so open and I didn't feel as though I could just walk away with my camera and never look back. In fact, the only thing I was sure of was my family and friends so I took a "temporary" job at a bank until I was more sure of where life was going...where I was going.
6 years later I am still working in banking as a financial advisor and personal banker which I would have never seen coming! I hated money, finances or anything to do with math in high school and I definitely didn't think of myself as being in a sales position much less doing well in that type of career but here I am. I definitely don't think this is where I'll be forever but the experience is irreplaceable. I still have the bug for photography and am lucky enough to have friends and family who allow me to indulge in my little hobby and capture some awesome memories for them. And, I most definitely still love politics and have helped out with local campaigns and hope to do more in the future. But for now, I am happy to be learning more and more everyday about business and banking which can be a pretty fascinating field itself.
After getting situated in our careers and being together for 5 1/2 years, Daniel and I tied the knot...something I didn't really think I would do when I was graduating high school but then again I couldn't have imagined meeting someone like Daniel either. He is my best friend and biggest fan and I really couldn't imagine a life without him. From day one he has always been supportive of me and in fact one day I came home from work and said, "There is a position available in San Luis Obispo and I'll need to move in two weeks if I take it...what do ya say?!" And knowing how much I have always wanted to move to the coast and the potential good my career would benefit from it, he came with me with little to no hesitation. It was just for a year, a really good year, but he did it for me and I knew we were a team from that point on. In fact we got engaged while we were living at the coast and got married there too.
Since moving back to Fresno, we have bought a house and had a beautiful daughter, Gianna, together. Anyone that knew me in high school knew my little sisters, 10 and 12 years younger than me, where glued to my hip. They went everywhere with me and were more like my kids than my siblings. Because of that, I really thought I would never have kids. Not that I didn't love kids but knowing what it took to raise kids and feeling like I had played a big role in raising my sisters, I just didn't know if having kids was for me. I'm glad that changed too. Once I married Daniel, I knew that I would love having kids with him and I do. Gianna has been the biggest blessing in my life thus far and I love being a mom.
So, in a nutshell that brings us to now. One day away from my 10 year high school reunion. Thinking back, I'd like to say I'm still the same girl (well, lets face it, a slightly older, heavier version of that girl) who walked across the podium with the other 700 some odd other graduates but I'm happy to say I think I am a much better version of her. Since then, I have learned the true value of friendship and family, I've learned how to be humble and accept defeat but also how to rejoice in all the good I have been blessed with. I have learned what it means to work hard, play hard and love like there is no tomorrow. I have learned the true power of forgiveness, have learned to accept my imperfections and how to always keep an open mind. And most importantly I think I have learned that its okay to not be exactly where you planned to be because you are exactly where you are supposed to be.
I am definitly looking forward to seeing some old familiar faces and seeing where life has taken everyone....it has been 10 years. I have been debating over the last few weeks to go at all because I am not super nostalgic about high school and there is no one I am dying to see though it will be nice to see a few. I guess I am glad that high school wasn't the best years of my life, in fact I feel like I am living those now, but I am glad that I had a good high school experience and I was surrounded by a lot of really good people. Even though I may not have stayed in touch with many people there were a lot of good people who touched my life and I hope to get a chance to hang out with them.
Personally, I am proud of what I have done with my life since graduating even though it's not what I had planned. In fact, I'm glad its not what I had planned. I am hoping the next 10 years will be as meaningful and amazing as the last 10 years.
Class of 2000 alumni,
Busy B