1999: A Reflection

Today marks exactly 15 years since I graduated from high school. (I was a public school student.) For such a momentous occasion, I thought it would be fun to take a trip down memory lane and share it here.

First, here’s a picture of me way back then:

How much about the news stories from back do you remember? What about the impeachment of then-President Clinton? Or the war in Kosovo? Those were what I wrote down as the most memorable of that year (national and international, respectively).

Here’s something that should be fun: prices. Back then, you could two loaves of bread for$1.39. These days, my husband will pay $5.19 without batting an eye. That’s for organic, chock-full-of-seeds bread, but still. I’m a little more reasonable; I pretty much max out at $2.50, or I make it at home. Milk was $2.79, which is pretty close to the $2.89-3.19 I pay now. The only difference is that back then, we were always told, “Be glad your car doesn’t run on milk,” because gas back then was in the $1.29-$1.39 range. Now of course, we’d be grateful if it dropped to$2.89! My, how times have changed. Eggs were 59 cents for a half-dozen. Now it’s around $1.19 for that size package. (Clearly I didn’t buy the eggs for our family back then or I would have recorded the price for a dozen instead of a half-dozen.) CDs and tapes – remember those? They ranged from $5.99-$15.99.

Okay, now a few personal things. In 1999, I was named Outstanding French Student. No wonder I love the language now, eh? The theme for my senior prom was “Light Up the Night,” and I attended with my now-husband. I got straight As and earned 28.5 credits; 24were required to graduate. My classes were Band (I played/play the flute), Government, British Lit, Yearbook (I was an assistant editor), and French 3. One of my best friends that year was a foreign exchange student from Germany. Unfortunately, I haven’t been in touch with her since then. (I wonder if the email address she left in my memory book is still accurate. And if so, would she even remember me?)

My high school graduation announcement

What year did you graduate? Tell me something memorable about that year in the comments!

Blessings,

Wendy