So I am turning 29 today. It seems surreal. I don't feel 29 and definitely don't look it, as my age never fails to surprise people when they find out.
It has been over 10 years since I graduated from high school. I unfortunately cannot attend my 10 year reunion, since they planned it in November instead of back during the summer like normal ones. When I was in high school, I was still using 3.5'' floppy disks and did all my homework and most research by hand.
I'd never heard of Facebook until the end of my mission, and discovered what YouTube was once I returned home. The Preach My Gospel missionary program that feels like it has been around forever was brand new when I started my mission, as my MTC teachers were adjusting to teaching from it, and my trainer in the field was still reading through it for the first time when I got to Ukraine. The first time I carried a cell phone was when I became a zone leader in the mission.
I got my first cell phone 2 months after my mission during my first semester of college when I realized it might be awkward asking girls on dates and giving out my Aunt's home phone # as my contact information. I remember when Blockbuster locations started going out of business and Redboxes started replacing them.
Technically I am labelled as the same generation as those freshman that I am still in school with. I feel quite a separation from them however. They are a decade younger than me and grew up in a whole different world. When I was an EFY counselor 2 years ago, I had 17 year olds who didn't remember September 11, 2001. I was in high school when that happened. I remember the Y2K scare in junior high.
Going back to elementary school, I remember the Jazz being beat in back to back Finals by Michael Jordan and the Bulls. I remember going to a baseball game at old Candlestick Park and watching Barry Bonds slug 2 homers and break the 300 mark. I remember Steve Young slinging balls to Jerry Rice and leading the 49'ers to win the Super Bowl.
I grew up collecting baseball cards, basketball cards, football cards, and Pogs. I played Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers with my neighborhood friends. I walked a mile to school and a mile home starting in 2nd grade. Not a lot of parents let their kids do that anymore.
It took me over 7 years post mission to find my sweetheart, whom I love so much and am so grateful for. The next 29 years of my life will be so much better with her by my side. The older I get, the more sentimental I become and the more I enjoy the simple things in life. Here's a photo that doesn't due justice to the beautiful fall colors Katy and I saw yesterday up at Porcupine Reservoir.
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