we were the misfits ..... in our heads

She brought a sheet cake to school to celebrate Mozart's birthday. That was a unique day that we left the stormy brooding in our heads. We lived on the edge of our childhood consciousness as well as the edge of the senior lawn preparing to be catapulted into college. Anxious and unsure, we were the artsy whimsical ones in AP classes, wrestling within the world of our heads. I don't know how I survived high school or honor classes.

I was lucky to have made any friends. I'm a comfortable loner. Everyone is a fleeting soul whisking here and there. I made friends during moments when I left my cloud. My thoughts were and are still always running but some folks seem to sparkle and cause me to take pause.

A was the main person I was looking forward to catching up with during our reunion. It was easy to be together again. The cheerleaders had their crowd, the football players, and then there was us. We felt like misfits still and now we know it's in our heads. The class president and homecoming queen were the first to greet us. They were really thrilled to see us and hear what we were up to.

A lot of people remembered me. I guess I wasn't as invisible as I thought.

Artist malaise. So sensitive that we hear secrets in the silences between people that we avoid too much input. We write, dance, find a way to distill what it means to be human and make sense of the noise in between. Making art is calming. I told A that I wasn't surprised at all the things she had been up to. I knew she would grow up to do fun and interesting things.

We are still like the tortured teens we were then only we did brave adventurous things along the way. We laugh at adversity more. Wear high heels and make a toast to conquer another day of uncertainty. Seeing a kin spirit from my childhood, I realized we grew up more than just fine. We're not just weird anymore. We're warriors.

Make toasts with people that inspire you to leave your cloud.

JNET