Then and Now

(A little teaser on an upcoming 'Bee series. Which I decided wasn't horribly wedding related so all-cool to post here.)

Alright, I have a not-so-secret-secret. I haven't changed much in the last decade or so. 



See what I mean?

Maybe I was a little less jaded-by-the-world, a little more emotionally distraught (hormones!), and a lot more egotistical (valedictorian is a title much too easy to get in high school, especially since college is waiting on the other side to slap you right upside your puffed-up head).  But essentially, I'm the same type of person I was back then.

In fact, the Penga in high school looked a little like this:

Band nerd

Flute, right in the middle!

Physics Club nerd

Advanced Placement Club nerd

Swim team sprinter, where I got some big muscly arms that later turned into fat. *sigh*

And my favorite high-school claim-to-fame: founding member of the Otaku Club.

Oh yes, we were mature.

We had quite the times in that club.

I attended my first convention in my sophomore year, Ani-Magic in Lancaster. Fanime would follow a few months later. My first cosplays included Trowa from Gundam Wing,

Quistis from Final Fantasy VIII,

and Ukyo from Ranma 1/2.

I was still my same doodley self, having drawn the member T-shirts for our club. I remember how exciting it was to get them professionally printed.

I still have the sketch and shirt too!

High school was also when I first learned the art of super-imposed, Photoshopped pictures.

(I still hadn't heard of jpeg artifacts, though.) Oh Vic Chou! I love you.

And my sister was just a wee little thing back then.

We rollin' in the dough!

I used to practice my flute for her when she was a baby. In my obscene, Episode I-decked room.

Is that JAR JAR?! *Hides in shame*

I was (and still am) really, really obsessed with Star Wars though.

Watched Episode I a whopping 11 times. Overnight line and all.

Now since Sak was still an unknown in Japan/Hawaii during this time period, I went through a few non-Saks along the way. My first boyfriend was the most popular boy in the band, and I went into shock that the cute trumpet player picked me, the nerdy flute, as a girlfriend. Such a shock, actually, that I never really talked or hung out with him. I was too afraid of messing up. Our conversation consisted of letters and online chatting, and eventually he dumped me, because who wants to date a pansy virtual chicken?

My second boyfriend, the smartest guy in my physics class, and a year my senior - was a bit more normal, relationship wise.  It was then I realized I could only safely relate with other nerds.  Like many a high school relationship, he dumped me before I left for college, making a clean break for the both of us. He went off to the Philippines to become a minister. And of course, I went to college free of attachment and found Sak! So although I was raging mad at the time, the ending was definitely good for both of us.

One last high school memory I'll never forget though - my little cousin once predicted who all his older female cousins would marry. His prediction for me? A nerdy, otaku boy with glasses and blue hair.

Well, I say 3 out of 4 isn't bad at all.

Are you the exact same person you were in high school? Did your friends or family (or yourself!) predict who you would marry one day?