I was talking with someone today and was telling him a little bit about my background. I told him I graduated from BYU and I had to pause for a couple seconds before finishing that it was in 2007. And the thought process going through my head at that point was "okay, it's 2009 and it's been 2 years, so that would make it 2007 when I graduated." For whatever reason, that year just isn't very special to me. I don't have to stop to think at all before saying that I graduate from high school in 2001. In fact, if someone were to say that they were from the class of [fill in the blank], I might very well respond that I was the class of '01.

Maybe it's because I didn't go to any graduation ceremonies. It's funny, though, because college graduation was much more of a goal and accomplishment for me than what high school graduation was. High school graduation was just a given - about as important to me as junior high's "commencement." With college, I at least contemplated dropping out. Never very seriously, but I did run away for a year.

I think a bigger part is because '01 was an identity for such a long time - about 4 years of my life, maybe even longer. Possibly the most important difference, though, is that I don't feel any kind of connection with the rest of the class of '07. I'd be hard-pressed to name more than a dozen people that I'm sure graduated at the same time as I did. Most of my classes my senior year were either with Sophomores in the CS program or with grad students in the ME program.

I know that it's too early to be thinking of it, but I don't think I'd have any reason to go to my 10 year reunion. I'm starting to wonder if I should go to my high school one, though. I don't really like going back to Flagstaff since nobody is there anymore, but I wonder who would show up for the reunion. Would any of my friends be there? Stop to think about it, was I even very close with anybody in my grade in high school? I know that there was only one other guy in my ward who was a senior at the same high school as me - most of the other kids at church were a year behind. But I still wonder if Amanda would be there... why do I keep wondering about her lately?