The Person That I Used to Be

I was cleaning out my filing cabinet this weekend when I found a stack of old college term papers and high school play newspaper clippings. Anyone who has ever stumbled onto a piece of the past while cleaning knows that what should have been a simple, half hour job suddenly morphs into a multi-hour process. When faced with a choice to continue working or take a leisurely stroll down memory lane, I chose the latter. (To be perfectly honest, when faced with a choice to clean or do almost anything else – say, alphabetize my DVDs or count the number of people walking past my apartment in the space of twenty minutes – I will inevitably make my choice based on the thing that least resembles work.)

While my weekend “work” didn’t really achieve anything tangible other than covering a perfectly clean floor with piles of junk, my jaunt back to the past did teach me quite a few things about the person that I used to be. For those of you who didn’t know me 10 to 15 years ago, I present to you a little enlightenment:

§ I was short. Evidence: A fellow cast member signed my play program with a running joke: “How’s the weather down there?” (People tell me that I am still short, but I have since come to the conclusion that the rest of the world is freakishly tall.)

§ I was interested in women in history. Evidence: Two college term papers titled “Women of the Protestant Reformation” and “Social Implications of The Salem Witch Trials.”

§ I liked to sound really smart. Evidence: The title of the aforementioned term paper: “Social Implications of the Salem Witch Trials.”

§ I was really smart. Evidence: All of the term papers received A’s. (Although, I suppose that is why I saved them. My conclusion is probably skewed based on selective evidence. No matter. My conclusion will stand because I am smart, and I say so.)

§ I was (am) a pack rat. Evidence: My original rehearsal schedule for The Sound of Music. (Yes, I was (am) that sad.)

§ I was funny. Evidence: A cast member’s note on a program: “You are funny.”

§ I was proud of my achievements. Evidence: the keeping of term papers, newspaper clippings, and notes from classmates telling me that I am funny, and then writing about them on my blog.