Sunday, June 03, 2012

Ten Years Ago

I got to thinking recently (I don't think often, so when I do, it's noteworthy) about how much my life has changed in the past 10 years.  My life has changed so much, in fact, that if you had described to me ten years ago where I'd be today, I would've been all, "Pfft.  You must have the wrong person."  And you'd have been like, "I'm totally serious, Kristi.  Here's a thousand bucks.  Run for the border and change your name and you might be able to escape your fate.  Do not pass go; do not look back.  Just run."

And I'm joking of course; my life is not bad at all.  In fact, there are some things I rather enjoy about it.  It's just that I would've never imagined it would have unfolded in this way.  There are certainly elements of my life that I would've predicted 10 years ago, but the way in which they happened would've been beyond my wildest imagination.  But that's life, right?  The only thing you can really expect from life is to be surprised.

For the sake of reminiscing, ten years ago: I had zero husbands and zero children.  I lived at home with my parents.  I did not even know my husband and was in the midst of dating a series of Mr. Wrongs.  I remember that time period, dating-wise, was particularly infuriating for me.  I did not like to date around.  I just wanted to find one awesome guy and be done with with.  Surely that's not too much to ask, right?  In retrospect, I probably should have been more patient in that arena.  With age comes wisdom. 

Back then, I wanted to do event planning for a career but, coming off the heels of 9/11, that felt like it was going slowly for me.  Generally speaking, though, it has been my experience that the things you're waiting for in life come even more slowly than you expect or want, whereas the possibilities you never considered end up blindsiding you.  Sometimes, you're just going along, minding your own business and suddenly you have a whirlwind shit storm on your hands.  

In the summer of 2002, however, there was no such whirlwind shit storm.  I had just started working at a golf course, in their catering sales department, and I was just about to quit my job waiting tables at Chili's.  All in all, things were looking up for me.  I remember that being a fun summer--I liked the people I worked with, most of my friends were done with college and we were all generally looking to have a good time.  I was 22 and totally self-absorbed.  I was completely incapable of fathoming the series of life-changing events that would unfold over the course of the next two years. 

At the end of the summer of 2002, as a birthday gift to me, my parents paid for me to take an improv class at Second City.  I remember being so excited about that.  Having been long regarded as funny and assured by friends and acquaintances alike that they would see me on Saturday Night Live someday, I was certain that enrolling in classes at Second City would put me on the fast track to comedy brilliance.  Alas, my time at Second City was cut short and my rise to fame was not to be.  I had a fantastic time there, though.  To this day, I can think of few things that get me as excited as enrolling in new improv classes and imagining the possibilities that could unfold therefrom.  I still consider my time at Second City to be unfinished, but whether or not I take more classes there, or somewhere else, or just continue to improvise with friends, improv is the one thing I'm still doing ten years later (after a few year hiatus).  I imagine it will continue to be a part of my life for the foreseeable future.

So there you have it.  Thank you for enduring the trail of tears with me.  Given the the curve ball the last ten years threw me, I've decided not to guess what will happen in the next ten years.  I'll just try to sit back and enjoy the show.  It's weird to think that ten years ago, I had no children and ten years from now, I'll have an 18 and 15-year-old.  Entire childhoods are passing before my very eyes; I should probably slow down and enjoy them!