Excitement swirled around the school cafeteria as we all gathered around the table. After all, it was the twelfth grade. The time for planning our futures. The time for deciding which direction our lives would take.
Five girls and four boys made up our small group of friends. Each day during lunch, we'd hang out at our special table. That we would all graduate was not an issue. We hung out together because we were all like minded and dedicated to our high school studies. We were all on the same page.
That past weekend, we spread the word to our group not to miss that day's lunch session. As I entered the lunch room, I purposely headed toward the end of the table. I sat quietly thinking about how I'd miss this place. However, I was looking forward to graduating high school; even more so elated thinking about what it would be like to graduate college.
My friends were especially excited that day. The reason for the special meeting was to confirm we'd all been accepted into the same college. Now, all that had to be decided was which dorms and roommates we'd like to have.
Everyone brought their information to exchange. Five girls meant there would already be an odd girl out with no roommate to share.
Each one took turns confirming their acceptance letter. Next, we stated which dorm we'd like. I'd talked about a specific dorm with the friend I thought would be a perfect match with my personality and study habits.
My friend asked for my information to add to hers for our dorm room. Yes, we were all on the same page; or so everyone thought.
"I've changed my mind," I told her. That was it. No further explanation as I looked away from shocked expressions.
"What do you mean? I thought we talked about this all summer. What happened?" Lillie said, exasperated.
"My family. We just don't have the funds for college." I talked low so none of the others could hear me.
After school, the two of us walked home. She asked if I was disappointed. I lied and said that I was extremely upset about it. Yes, my family didn't have the resources for me to attend college. But what I didn't tell her was that I wasn't disappointed or upset.
The reason was that I had made other plans during that past summer. I had my life all laid out exactly what I was going to do and how I was going to make it happen.
You see, my boyfriend and I had decided to get married immediately after high school. We thought we'd both go to college in a couple years after we got settled. We'd both graduate together. It would be the happiest moment of our lives. We had it all perfectly worked out on paper.
Funny things about perfectly made plans.
The next year, our first child arrived. Life was hard. But determination and the will to stick with our plans and make them work was at the forefront. Two years passed. Neither of us were in a position to enroll in college. Five years passed and more children. Responsibilities mounted.
College for either of us was never mentioned again.
Twenty two years later, the day my oldest child graduated from college was a happy memory for me.
But my happiest memory, although delayed, came the day I graduated from college that same year.
RULES FOR #BOW Theme due 10/19/21
How to enter your post for the Blog of the Week (#BoW) - note the additional criteria for: Blog of the Week: New Theme for Tuesday 19 October 2021
- Go through those old photographs and scrap books and take us back to that happy time.
- Posts must be in English and obviously centre on the week’s topic.
- Prose must be a minimum of 350 words. If it’s a photo or graphic essay, the photos must be your original work and preferably with some sort of back-story to the images.
- The blog must be posted in/from the Silver Bloggers Community
- The account must be a subscribed Silver Blogger
- Use #BoW - blog of the week - as your first tag. And follow the tag so we can all easily find, upvote and comment on other entries.
- Share the link to your entry in the comments of this post and in our Discord channel which is open to subscribed members only.
What is your happiest memory? If you'd like to join in, just take a look at the criteria above, then head on over to the official contest post. Be sure to adhere to all the requirements.
Thanks,
@justclickindiva
Happy rest of the week everyone with whatever your endeavors.
SOURCES:
a) JustClickindiva's Footer created in Canva utilizing its free background and images used with permission from discord admins.
b) Unless otherwise noted, all photos taken by me with my (i) Samsung Galaxy 10" Tablet, (ii) Samsung Phone, & (iii) FUJI FinePix S3380 - 14 Mega Pixels Digital Camera
c) Purple Butterfly part of purchased set of Spiritual Clip Art for my Personal Use
d) All Community logos, banners, page dividers used with permission of Discord Channel admins.
e) Ladies of Hive banner used with permission of and in accordance with the admin's guidelines
