There Are Many Paths

So, I just got back from seeing a bunch of my friends from high school, people whom I haven't seen since our graduation 10 years ago. Man, talk about a trip. Its really striking how differently they've all turned out, especially considering we all went to the same college prep program and all of that. I think about my situation, I've got a wife, a dog, no kids. I've a good job and I (well, and the bank) own my own home. I think of this as normal to a greater or lesser extent. Especially since all the people whom I associate with are in the same boat give-or-take. But these guys, its a whole range. One of them hasn't changed at all... shorter hair, and he's married to his former girlfriend, but that about it. He's working of a law firm in LA, and his wife's working on a doctorate in Spanish Lit or something along those lines. I sat down and talked with him and the 10 year gap was totally irrelevant. But then there's another guy who I've know since preschool. He was never much of a scholar, but he graduated same as the rest of us. He showed up this evening, drunk and/or high, and generally looking sort of a mess. I've no beef with drunk and/or high people, having been one myself at various points in my life, but I didn't want to talk to him. It was just too weird. And they were talking about other people who we knew and things that have happened to them. One gentleman is on the verge of a divorce. The daughter of my 8th grade science teacher, who went through the same program in high school, ended up doing time on some kind of drug manufacturing and distrubtion charge. Another girl ended up dancing in a strip club, probably past her prime. Shit, just too weird. People like to talk about the benefits of a good education like there's something deterministic about it. To an extent I'm sure they're right, but there's a whole lot that can happen after that.