Memories are made of this 2

High school wasn't exactly a blast, but in hindsight, it was a blur of average grades and extracurricular overcommitment. I didn’t study much (B’s and C+'s are nothing to brag about), but I was involved in everything—sports, the yearbook, the school newspaper, student council. I even managed another band (this one lasted three whole shows!). My big athletic claims to fame? I received a school letter for my athletic contributions in track and field, I was part of a community football team that won the Canadian Championship and a community softball team that won the BC Championships. Despite these achievements, if you ask me about fitting in, I’d say I never quite did. I had friends in town that didn’t mesh with my school friends, and reconciling those worlds was like trying to mix oil and water. Or, in my case, rock and roll and algebra

Grade ten rolled around with our history teacher crying over JFK’s assassination, and we all got the day off. Emotional milestones, indeed.

I loved rock and roll, attending all the local dances, even though I couldn't dance to save my life. I saw Roy Orbison, Paul Revere and the Raiders, and even sneaked into a Beatles concert by exploiting a security lapse – though, surprisingly, I wasn't that impressed.

At my first high school reunion, I met people who remembered me and our times differently. It was a humbling experience that taught me to never underestimate the impact I had on others. The high school reunion helped me realize two things: 1) Some people actually loved high school, and 2) Some people remembered me far more fondly than I remembered myself. Apparently, I was more helpful than I thought. So, I learned this lesson you might not realize the impact you have on others until decades later.

Finally, off I went to Simon Fraser University, where, as one of the charter students, I dove headfirst into extracurricular activities by helping to start the first newspaper, "The Tartan," and was involved in setting up the student government and dance-planning ventures. We put on several dances and put all of our hard-earned  profits back into one big formal to honour our President. All of the money was spent on a President’s Ball. I was practically a model of student initiative—just with more confetti.

University was a time of fun, initiative, and learning that life is too short to be held back by anything but your own self-imposed limitations.

What did I learn through it all? In the end, memories are often a mix of fact, fiction, and the stories we tell ourselves. The second thing I learned was that the only real limits are the ones we put on ourselves. High school was fun, weird and not what I thought it was. University was hard work, fun, and life? It’s short, so enjoy the ride.