Forrest Gump Was Right!

Life is like a box of chocolates.  You never know what you’re gonna get.  That’s what Forrest Gump quoted his mother as telling him.  Of course, he’s very much right.

Recently, I have been getting in touch with my high school friends on Orkut.  It’s amazing to find people from years and years ago that I haven’t talked to or even thought about, for the most part.  There’s the occasional friend I was in touch with but nothing too significant.  15 years later, I see them as adults.  Whoa!  What a trip!    Who would have thought it!?!

Most of my high school friends have lived a fairly normal life.  Many of the girls are married and have kids.  Many of the guys are married also with kids but there’s a handful of single folks there too.  Then there’s a few who got divorced.  A girl I dated got in touch with me a year or so ago.  We have been in touch on and off since then until she added me on the social networking site.  It feels like more frequent communication now since I can see what’s going on in her life through the site.  Anyhow, this girl has two kids and is onto her second marriage (possibly third!).  Either that tells you a lot about my judgment as a high school kid or it tells you how much people’s lives can change unpredictably.  You really never know what chocolates you get in a box.

Then there’s my closest friend from way back then.  He and I ran cross-country together during the summers and first quarters (into second).  We then played soccer together in junior varsity and varsity (well, he made it to var, I wasn’t that good).  He married his high school sweetheart.  I remember attending their wedding.  Had a great time!  Unfortunately, as I reconnected with him now, he is no longer married to this girl, who I also knew but wasn’t that close to.  The passion was no longer there it seems.  I don’t know if I buy that logic because this buddy of mine is smarter than that.  But, giving him the benefit of the doubt, especially since we haven’t spoken but had a couple of email exchanges, I can’t really say anything definitively.

One thing that stood out for me was that the majority of people who I have gotten in touch with have really stayed in the same city or vicinity.  Most of them have not moved out of the region.  That really surprises me.  Not only did I move to the East Coast, I also moved to India.  On the other hand, I guess it makes sense since their families are all local anyhow.  If their families didn’t move, less reason for them to move.

Yet, it made me reflect on how unstable my life really has been.  I consciously thought about that yesterday.  I was going on a very specific path, medical school, like every other Indian kid, but then my father passed away.  I had just finished my first year of college.  Since then, my life has been anything but stable.  Only relatively recently, about two or so years ago, have I started to come to grips with a lot of things that have happened.  But I slip back into the traumas of old very quickly.  It takes only a minor thing to jar me.  So I guess I haven’t full come to terms with things that happened, but I have come to grips with life in general.  I think on my own now instead of having thoughts (of anger usually) cross my mind by themselves.

I went from one coast to the other.  I went from one country to another.  I was in touch with friends I grew up with.  I then deliberately left them all behind.  I was in touch with family.  Then I chose to distance myself there (for good reason, as much of my problems came from them).  Today, I focus mostly on work.  I don’t have much of a circle here in India.  Sometimes I feel bad about not having friends.  Generally, though, I’m fairly satisfied with the simplicity and lack of chaos though.  (My mom is a source of chaos that I can’t avoid, but that’s a different story. )

Life really is like a box of chocolates.  You never know what you’re gonna get.