The Roaring Twenties

Holy crud, it's my birthday again.

I originally had a long post here about how I felt losing much of my "twenties" to work, school, and living with my parents.

But I have other things I'd rather say today. 

Last week, I had the honor and pleasure of witnessing my best friend since elementary school take the oath of office into the position of mayor of our city -- the one in which we grew up and attended elementary, middle, and high school.  We were walking partners from middle school all the way through college.  I will never forget the day we met in the elementary school cafeteria, or the day that his father passed away and I didn't know how to console him, or the day we were running on the UCLA campus in effort not to be late to our graduation ceremony at the Public Affairs school. 

At his young age, I was so proud to see him up there.  In fact, the whole city was proud of him, including my parents and sister, who showed up as well.  Not to mention a whole slew of other people from our past.  I think that "The Ukrainian" probably got a kick out of seeing all of us interacting, a collision of the past and present.  I introduced a few of my friends to my parents.  Mingling with those people during the reception made me realize something.

The past is present.

I am not alone.  These people, who I hadn't seen in years in some cases, offered their ears and assistance to me any time I would need it.  They admired and respected me for how far I've come, something I cannot for the life of me see on my own normally.  And I am so, so lucky to have friends who understand me and would not give up on me.

No matter what happens, I will try to never again forget who I am, the experiences I had growing up, and especially the people around me.  It's a small world, and I am happy to be a part of it.  I am going to try a lot harder to make my part a good one.