When I came into work on Tuesday, this photo was in my inbox.
There's a lot that occurs to me as I look at this photo.
I actually remember posing for it. It was summer 1999, and we were on our senior trip.
All of us would start college the following semester. Four of us would graduate.
I miss various people in this photo for various reasons.
The girl on the left I miss because we at one point were best friends. She still lives in town, but I never see her. In fact, it's eerie how much I don't see her. You know how you'll be at Walmart or at a bar or something and run into someone from a million years ago? Never ever happens with her. Happens with her parents and her sister. But never her. May be just as well. I don't really have anything to say to her.
I miss the girl second from the end, sometimes, because she lives out of town and I just don't get to see her much. But we're still friends.
The next two still live relatively nearby, and I get to see them more often. I did briefly miss the girl third from the left when she moved to Florida, but she returned eventually. Now I just miss her because she's often busy with a daughter. Which is still weird to me. I don't feel old enough to have kids. She shouldn't, either. Neither should the girl second from the left, who is expecting her first.
The second from the right is me. I want to go kick my 18-year-old self's ass for ever being embarrassed about my body. I would try to get her to take that "Freshman Fifteen" seriously, but she wouldn't, because 1. She was as stubborn then as she is now, and 2. Her metabolism knew no bounds, so she had no reason to believe in it.
Two of us were already with our eventual spouses at the time this photo was taken. Three of the six of us are married now.
The four who had their arms linked had been friends the longest. Three of the four of them are still friends.
I went snorkeling for the first time the day this was taken.
The song "Beautiful Stranger" makes me think of this trip, and vice versa. I bought the "Austin Powers" soundtrack while we were there.
Several of us have lost grandparents. One of us has lost a parent. All of us lost the girl on the right nine years ago. NINE. It will be 10 in April. I can't believe it. We all miss her.
At least one of us still has the bathing suit they are pictured in here.
Our plane tickets cost $125. Round trip.
