With my 20-year high school reunion coming up, I am wondering who has been doing what. Fortunately, some of the reunion organizers created a web page that allows us to enter info about ourselves, family, job, favorite high school memory, etc. (this is my equivalent of Facebook!). I find myself checking this site every day just to see who has posted what. A few of us have this shared memory that involves leaving a dead grouse on the lawn of our biggest football rival. I am still trying to remember everyone who was in the car and who was the one who almost got ran over (two people insist it was me, which seems believable given my coordination). Another classmate was reminiscing about the time I had about 10 people over drinking what we should not have been and my parents came home a day early. Good times.Most of all, I am thinking about what I have accomplished since high school and how I now care so much less about what I have done than I did for my 10-year reunion. A couple months before the 10-year one, a few of us at the company where I work asked my boss if we could change our title from "editorial assistant" to "editor." Once we assured my boss he would not have to pay us more money, he said he did not care what we called ourselves. For me, I just thought editor would sound more impressive in the reunion booklet.
But fast-forward 10 years, and I no longer care so much what people think. Why does a certain title make one successful? I do admit when I filled out what I had done over the past 20 years, I realized most of my accomplishments (scant as they were) came in the first 15; I really have not done much since having a kid. But what bothered me most was that I did more "good" back then, both to my body (when I lived at the gym) and to the world (or at least the Burgh, with my volunteer work).
I also had vowed to lose at least 10 pounds before the reunion. I have gained almost 15 pounds since graduation, and it would be nice to be that high school size again. But I weigh now about what I did at the 10-year reunion, so why try to fool anyone? Does it really matter?
What I think counts most is the kind of person you are. I try to be a good person, and Lord knows I need to try harder, but to me that is something. Treating others as you would want to be treated is important, way more so than a nice title, a huge house, and a size 6 body.
In a few months, I may change my mind and start begging my boss for a better title or I may start picking up a dumbbell again, but don't count on it.
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