Anniversaries

So twenty years ago this month, two milestones occurred in my life. One, I graduated from 8th grade and left St. V's. And two, I became very engaged in the Jack & Jennifer story as the Cruise of Deception aired.

A third milestone occurred in August, when we left Detroit and moved to the 'burbs.

I was fourteen and more than a little lonely. I didn't have many friends, I was about to start high school, and I never felt very pretty or confident. I didn't feel like I would ever have a crowd of friends of mine or a boyfriend. I remember watching the couples on "Fun Day" dancing and feeling like wow, I wonder if a boy would ever like me. I wonder if anyone would ever ask me to dance. I remember if I ever would feel comfortable in my wardrobe, my skin, my hair, my gangly body. I remember not feeling like I would ever belong.

Watching Jack & Jennifer that summer was such a big thing for me. I remember them vaguely before that, but I don't remember the precise moment I really fell. I don't know if it was their witty banter, the adventure, the longing, the sense of adventure, the insecurity, or the pure romance of it that was timed perfectly for me. I remember wanting to be an adult like that, to be able to get away from everything that I hated. That Cruise of Deception was just absolutely perfect.

Fourteen is a tough age, but it's tougher when you don't have a group to call your own. It is a bittersweet time as we were preparing to leave Detroit, move to an area I didn't really know, and start over, again, with a new group who pretty much resembled the old group. But I had something to cling to, for a while, anyway. Nice that Melissa Reeves is returning briefly to Days this month. Maybe I'll sneak a glimpse, too.