Class of 2003

Its amazing to look back at the last 10 years.

The good the bad and the ugly.

This year will be my 10 year High School Reunion,

and since I was Class President I am in charge of gathering my  74 other classmate.

(Thank goodness for Facebook)

(Senior Class Photo, 10 years ago… CRAZY)

Feels like just yesterday when I was dreamed of  becoming a famous

Fashion Designer in LA. Well, that and a Forensic Scientist.

Oh how times have changed.

(Don’t laugh, that’s me at age 6)

Most of you have no idea, but I grew up in a SUPER small town of 1800 people 2 hours south west of  Fort Wayne.

A lovely farming community where jeans and t-shirts where a staple.

Our spirit weeks consisted of bail tosses and drive your tracker to school day.

After school activities were all about sports and summer for me was spent at

Indiana Beach (Summer Job)

(Miss Volleyball more than anything else from High School)

(We went undefeated this year 42-0)

I remember that girl  in High School,  the girl who volunteered at the Indiana Veterans Home. The girl who had an array of different friends, and the girl who more then anything wanted to be different.

For the most part, I still think I am that girl.

I remember my graduation, and how more then anything I wanted to leave that small town and prove to everyone I could be something BIG. For me then, a small town was only going to hold me down. It wasn’t long after I graduated and went off to college in Long Beach, CA that I realized that it didn’t matter how far I ran because deep down inside I was always going to be that small town girl.

I laugh when I look back at that girl. The girl my journalism teacher nick-named “Money” because of a pair of ridiculous pants I wore just to be different. (Just for the record, I was still voted Most Fashionable.)

The girl who seemed so confident, yet  I was so naive, and the girl who LOVED to write poetry.

But more then anything, I was a girl who wanted to make a difference in any way possible.

(Easter is just around the corner, Age 7)

I think it is so important to never loose track of  “That Girl.”

To always remember the girl you were before life happened.

Which reminds me of a conversation my boy friend and I had.

In that conversation he said,”We are all a product of our past experiences”

I can not tell you how many times I have thought about what he said.

He’s right, but I think your past experiences should ALWAYS improve you for the better, not the worse.

So when I look back on the past 10  years, I asked myself  if I have improved.

I am still that country girl who loves camping and canoeing.

I am still that girl who LOVES to be different and enjoys having an array of  friends.

But for me the most important part of myself  I am glad I never lost track of  is,

I am still that girl looking to make a difference.

If you would have asked “That Girl” 10 years ago if  she thought she would be a part of a company who has touched hundreds of  life’s I would have said there is no such place.

I LOVE Matilda Jane for the differences it has made in other peoples life and the difference it has made in mine.

With out Matilda Jane, I am not sure I would be the same person I am today.

I can say  with 100% confidence than I am a better person because of  Denise and the experiences she has given me.

My only hope is that one day I can improve someone else’s life the way Matilda Jane has improved mine.

So CHEERS to the Class of 2003!!!!

May the next 10 years be as fantastic as the last, and may you never lose sight of  the inner “YOU.”

XOXO

Kayla