I miss.....

For today's yesterday's prompt (sorry - I dropped the ball!), I was asked:

What do you miss? (a person, a thing, a place, a time of your life...)

Believe it or not, my answer to this question is high school! I had a fantastic experience, great friends, and a sense of unwavering optimism as the result of both. Specifically, though, I miss the following things about high school:

• Music. Throughout high school, I was involved with concert choir, jazz ensemble, and musical productions. Some of my favorite memories occurred in the "music wing" or in the auditorium.
• Freedom. Even though I have more freedom now, as an adult, than I had in high school, I felt amazingly free when I would drive myself to & from school. And when I was able to leave during free periods/lunch senior year. And when I would take improptu evening trips to somewhere meaningless, like Subway or Wegmans, just for fun.
• The great anticipation of my future. I once heard that the anticipation of something is usually greater than the something itself, and looking back, I genuinely think that my sincere excitement for and expectations of college, friendships, my love life, etc. was better than (some of) the real thing.
• Special occasions. Proms. Musical performances. Winter ball. Homecoming. The first and last days of school. Graduations. Senior Tea. There were always upcoming special occasions to look forward to, most of which required fancy attire. What's more fun than getting dressed up for a special occasion and knowing that the next one is within reach?
• The things that felt like a big deal but weren't. In high school, I was a drama queen. In some ways, I still am. So to me, the things that felt like a big deal really weren't. A fight with my boyfriend, or a change in the prom theme, seemed like the end of the world then, but I know now that life throws so much worse than that at us. I'd love to go back to the days of no-big-deal big deals.

Even with all of that said (and even though I genuinely do miss high school), I wouldn't go back. The person I was then is different from who I am now, and I'm proud of the positive changes that have been made. (Not to mention that I didn't know my husband in high school, and if I did go back, I'd miss him a lot!)