Last night, one of my high school friends Tammie Hill tagged me on Facebook. I screamed when I looked at the picture. It was a 1991 newspaper photo and article about me when I was a student in high school. I did a google search to see if that 20-year-old article is online and it is! Oh my goodness…the more things change, the more they stay the same.
The three things that have changed:
1. My name. I was Kimberly Newby. “Kim Newby” – I loved that name. My dad joked with my husband that he should change his last name to Newby. That wasn’t happening. I wanted Reggie’s last name, but I will always have a little “Kim Newby” in me!
2. My career choice. When I was young, I thought that I wanted to be a lawyer and a politician. However, when I researched both professions more, I lost interest. In reality, my mom mainly wanted me to be a lawyer with her Agatha Christie/Matlock/Murder She Wrote-loving self! It took the distance of college for me to come up with my own career dreams. (They changed over time too! I’m so happy that I live in today’s society where people aren’t stuck in the same job for a lifetime!)
3. My personal style. When my husband saw the newspaper photo, he asked, “Was that your hair? You looked like a poodle!” Whatever. I actually had a good sense of style (although looking back, it was pretty colorful!) back in the day. Thank God for style updates though!
The five things that have remained the same:
1. Community-minded focus. I was raised to believe that everyone could do something to help others. Volunteering and community service aren’t optional for me…or my family.
2. A strong sense of fairness. I don’t think that will ever leave me. I know that life isn’t fair, but I try to even the scales within my realm of influence whenever possible!
3. Confidence, determination and competitiveness. Although time has definitely given me a better perspective overall, I haven’t lost those attributes. (Now, I’ve just learned to channel that competitiveness towards being my personal best!)
4. A love of learning. I have always loved to learn from a variety of people and experiences. That’s one of the reasons that I enjoy blogging so much – it gives me access to some of the top minds regarding practically any topic that I’m interested in!
5. My mom is still my greatest inspiration. Now that I am a mom myself, I appreciate her and all of the challenges that she faced even more. I am so grateful that I have choices (stay at home/work at home/work outside of the home/etc.) that she didn’t have but sacrificed to ensure that I received. Most of all, she is still always there for me – even though we are in different states!
The neat thing is that of the things that have remained the same, I can clearly see #1-4 in both my mom and my kids. The apples really don’t fall from the tree. (Well, at least not sometimes. I’ve seen some great trees with some sour apples and vice versa!)
How about you? When you think back to your high school years, do you see more similarities or differences?
Anyway, I love that “Kim Newby”. She was “cool people”. I also love this “Kim Coleman”. She’s a work in progress :-).
Looking back, looking back, looking back…