Hang In There

I just finished the only book I have read, to completion, all year. I actually started it in September. That sounds horrible and I’m wincing even as I type it, but it’s true. I start lots of books, but I either loose interest or it’s due back to the library before I can finish it. Yesterday, after a day and a half of being snowed in, I finished a book.

Despite the length of time it took me to read, "Prep" by Curtis Sittenfeld was a great book. Anyone who is scared of standing out, or even more scared that they don’t stand out at all, would appreciate it. It is about a middle class teenager from the Midwest who goes to boarding school on the east coast. It made me reminiscent of high school. It brought back all of the pain and insecurity. But also, it brought back the joy of being young, energetic, and full of hope for the future. I remembered the friendships I had back then. They were the kind of friendships where you are together all the time, not bound by the constraints of day and night, or work, or financial obligations. My friends and I, we were intentionally trying to meld ourselves together, to make the distance between us a small as possible. That kind of free time, and sadly, that kind of friendship, just doesn’t exist for me anymore. There is always a child that needs attention, a mortgage payment that needs to be made... I guess marriage comes close. But it doesn't really ever completely take the place of friendhips like that.

The thing about private school, the thing that I remember the most, is that I actually felt like I one of the chosen ones. I think that deep in my heart, I still cling to that belief.