1996

b/c I like organizing and cataloging stuff... here are the photos I have on my computer from 1996. There is nothing special here, but a tiny piece of my soul is now freer since I will no longer worry about what to do with all these dumbass pictures. It is driving me more than slightly crazy that I don't recall the exact dates of all of these things. I have decided that it is ok so long as I can narrow it down to the month.
These are pretty random... from a Superbowl party... Jan 28, 1996. I believe these people are Chase Slagle, Amy Voelker, Mark Voelker, and me. And then Myra I-Can't-Remember-Her-Last-Name, Whitney Hobart, and Bryan.
Then there are these awful pictures from Easter of that year. I think the "youth" were supposed to be serving breakfast to all the old people or something. My mom and sister are in the first photo. Whitney is in the last photo, but I can't remember the girl's name in the middle. Once I start thinking about people more than 3 years younger than me, the information is pretty well irretrievable.
Then there was the whole graduation thing. According to the pen marks on the backs of these photos, we graduated 02 June 1996. Most of the stuff I remember from this day is terrible.
Me and Bryan beforehand. Someone said we had to smile. You can also barely see Richie's head over Bryan's shoulder. Camera hog. Oh yeah! And I have no tassle b/c I took it apart, and I just had a bunch of string in my pocket. That other really blurry picture is the good thing I remember from that day. My last tiny act of defiance to that shitty school. Shake hands with the Principal? I don't think so. Stop at the top of the ramp for photos? Nope. Fuck you, I'm out.
Then the photo-op with my mum. I do like that I got that golden rope thing for honors or something even though I absolutely did not earn it. And then me and Bryan and my sister and my mom. I had to get out of that dress asap. And I sure as hell wasn't going to wear a suit underneath.
I don't remember what the occassion was here, but this was yet another church youth group gathering. It was the week after graduation tho, and that cake says "seniors" on it. So, through my superior reasoning powers, I will state that this was a graduation party. It was the lake that was below my house in Spruce Pine. This place was actually pretty awesome, and I did not utilize it enough...
	Some kind of game was being played... football maybe? I dunno, but this is Swiss Pine Lake. It's a fake lake. But it was nice.
There was food there... Somehow all pictures containing food also contain Bryan. There's Amy, me, and Bryan. Then me, Bryan, Nathan Hall, and Will Wilson. Then Bryan. As I write this, I am wearing the same flannel shirt that I am wearing in those pictures.
Then I have all these random pictures from July of '96. But, for some reason, they were all lacking the Day from the date on the back. This caused me much consternation. But I think I've gotten over it.
Some random trip to the zoo. Church youth group again. If it wasn't for John and Janice, I would have zero pictures of my formative years.
Bryan eating again...	Me and Will trying to decipher the message hidden in the cupcakes. John looks on in disbelief. (He was the preacher at my church... I really liked them... wonder what happened to them...)	Apparently they liked us too. For some reason they took Bryan and I to eat at Makoto's in Boone.
So there's 1996. Some of it. Somewhere in there Bryan and I went to Great Britain. So the year wasn't a complete loss. And I got rejected from Davidson. And then I called them and was like, "wtf?" And then they let me in, and then I drove to MHS one night to share the news when I found out. For some reason I was excited about it. Then we moved to Hickory. Then I moved to Davidson. And eventually betrayed everything that I thought was worthwhile. *sigh*