Whoa what a flashback!!

I have spent this evening (as well as a good portion of the afternoon) back at my parents' house cleaning out my old closet. I've been officially "moved out"/"on my own" for about a year now (not counting college apartments, etc.) My old bedroom has gradually turned itself into a study/computer room. My mom has really been good about the HUGE piles of stuff that were still taking up the closet. Well - her patience ran out. She very strongly suggested that unless I'd like her to simply rake everything into a trash bag that I come home and clean it myself. That's where I find myself now - *scanning the room and the piles of my middle and high school history.* I am a recovering pack-rat. (First step is admitting that you have a problem, right?) I kept everything! I have shoe boxes full of old notes written about crushes and hard Astronomy tests.... I have old essays written in AP english.... It's been quite a "flash back" kind of day. I can't bring myself to just throw something away without giving it one last hoorah. So- I've been reading all about my high school loves through the written voices of my closest high school friends. (Only a few of which I'm still in contact with... People I wish I was in better contact with: Alison Hudson, Ayana Shepherd, Bethany Creel, Jason Hart, Luke Crum - I miss you!) Wow. I even found my senior year time capsule. It's awesome - a huge tin that I spent a year filling with memories - and I've spent the whole evening convincing myself that I've made it since 1999 without opening it... I can wait the four more years 'till the 10 year reunion! It's really sad seeing some of these things go.... It's just depressing seeing that part of my life filling up a trash bag. Oh well - part of the "pack rat healing process," eh? Besides- I have no where to put any of it at my new apartment - so, I don't have a choice. Oh well.... for now, I'm back to thinking about proms and football games.... random nights taking pictures in shoe stores and "stalking" the guys that we had crushes on.... the inside jokes... the memories... *sigh* Thanks for the memories.