Stranger in the Photo Is You

I found a picture lying on my desk. There stood Kyle shoulder to shoulder with myself, Daniel peering over our backs and Scott Leblanc standing awkwardly in the background. The rest of the picture is filled with the silent conversation and laughter of the kids playing amongst themselves at my old elementary school. It happened to be a full day of 'Art in the Park. Kyle and I both had our faces painted like clowns, it was pure coincidence that we were the classes.I can remember how much fun that day was to us; we would look forward to it for at least a month. Keep in mind, that's an adequate amount of time considering the attention span of an 11-year-old prepubescent boy. Yet I remember even deeper the fun me and those boys had, not necessarily on that day but further into the past and future as it would unfold.

Although I have no pictures to show these memories, they are still as sharp to myself as if it were yesterday, pardon my clichй. Memories such as Me and Scott not being allowed to play in the sun on really bright days due to our light blonde hair, or how I use to watch hockey games with Kyle and his dad when I was growing up. Or the time Dan tried to drown me in his pool; well we sort of lost touch after that. So it goes.

It seem that as I grew older I still wanted to have fun. I like to think now that it was the beginning at an attempt to hold onto my childhood spirit, but it would seem that even children have to mature one day. And as I stared at the picture, jotting down notes on my feelings and ideas, I couldn't help but draw my mind to grade 9. Again, the memories were of good company and myself having fun. Only this time we were in high school, our ambitions soared. I felt like I just passed over a mountain. Elementary schools over, 10 years of the same school and same people gone! It was time to act like a high school student.

My mind continued down its short trail and soon I see myself carrying an old friend home from a neighborhood field party. Apparently just because she was in high school didn't mean her kidneys and liver happened to work any more efficient than usual. I ending up carrying her on my back for about 4 kilometers up and down Himalayan like hills and tundra like plain. Of course your mind tends to exaggerate when you recall your helpful deeds but never the less I happen to have realized that night that the great barrier I pushed through from elementary school really wasn't