But when we were younger, life seemed full of complications... That age of insecurity, those lessons in betrayed and all that defined the years that shaped who we were to become ..Things could have gone so very wrong. Today I see students much younger than we were, who are more concerned about appearance, popularity and reputation and I am so grateful for the upbringing I had.
Sometimes, its not all down to the parents, even though credit goes to them too. Half my day with mum and half my day with a group of special people has made me who I am today.
Those special ones whoI have to thank for happiness are a few people who made me the person I should be. Some people who were always there for me, and still are. I know today, if I give any one of them a call, anytime of the day...they'll be there to help me.
I remember, that no matter how funny I looked, how stupid I acted, how not popular I was...they never judged me. They made me feel part of the group... and how rare is that nowadays?
This is my written tribute to those special ones, I grew up with. I will never ever forget the lesson in humility, compassion and friendship they taught me. :
I remember every single moment I spent. I remember 2nd Grade, a really tall girl hiding my dolls and inviting me over all the time. In 4th Grade , another girl, with Angelina like lips trying to make me laugh and in 7th Grade, playing basketball with a really pretty Arab/Asian , I remember 9th Grade, meeting a girl who was named after a flower, 10th grade, physics class full of drawings with a loud, hilarious friend. I remember Chemistry Class with a fellow Goan who was more interested in pigeons than experiments. I remember the days before our IGCSE's where none of us came to class to study... but instead just to have crazy fun.
I can’t stop thinking of love affairs between classmates, and remaking classics like Macbeth, where less work was done and more laughter was found. I often have flashbacks of horribly uncoordinated cricket matches, or getting trashed 26-6 in basketball.
I was shy, quiet, and reserved.... till these girls washed all of that away, be it with sarcasm, water fights, beating, or just being lazy, they changed me for life. Some might have broken classroom locker doors or many test-tubes in the chem lab...but the most important lesson we learned, was how to get out of trouble!
Now i realise how easy happiness is to find. I know where it lies, where I truly belong and even in the long run, whether I’m married, single, rich, poor, I know where to find happiness.
Some moments may not have been pleasant (hint : being run over by a dune buggy), and some may not be pain free (Getting whacked in the shin while playing football) but I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
There might have been people I didn’t like back then, but as I get on in life, I look back and realise I still love them, no matter what. Now, on meeting people in the "real world" I wonder why I ever hated people in school! They were angels compared to those I know now!
As Christmas nears, I remember carolling at Marriott and as the New Year dawns; I remember all those years that began in class, meeting those people who were special, laughing our way down the corridor.
I remember all those football matches that were supposed to happen, but we ended up sitting on the grass and chatting.
I remember birthdays in school and the demands for chocolates, and the end of year class parties where the tables were overflowing with food, and we finished almost everything out there!
I think of those trips to weird factories and science places and the fun we had even though it was supposed to be terribly boring. Every time I see a school bus I remember those special people, at the back laughing, singing and dancing...sometimes getting bumped in the head when we hit a speed breaker. I remember fighting with kids and getting bullied by juniors!
I cant stop thinking of the French class trip to the Burj Al Arab, where fascination was the key word, and the assignment on the trip was never submitted.
Happiness. It’s undefinable isn’t it? It’s like those birthdays I spent with few special friends, those 4-1 games where we bought the pub down, those tequila shots and bad karaoke nights. School concerts, that might have been a drag, those should-have-been-recorded moments like a special someone falling on stage, or a dune buggy doing somersaults maybe even ruining a batch of bbq chicken!
I loved those exhibitions where we painted class walls instead of paper, and those music classes singing “Coconuts”, a certain blonde and her blonde moments, I miss our animalistic howls and being called the worst class ever.
We might have been the worst class ever... but we were the best family we could ever have.
We might have been the worst class ever... but we were the best family we could ever have.
I guess some memories are there to stay.
And I guess some friends are what makes life worthwhile.
I miss you guys...
I miss those moments.
~ Michelle
I miss those moments.
~ Michelle
Me too! I know how you feel, I miss being younger and still at school.
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