High school wasn't exactly my social peak. I had friends, but I never really felt like I belonged anywhere — at least not at my own school. That changed when I joined DECA, a statewide club that, on paper, was about business and marketing competitions but, in actuality, was my reality check on what friendships could actually be like.
My closest DECA friends didn't even go to my school. We met at conferences in different cities and spent entire weekends hanging out, cramming into hotel rooms, and taking over random restaurants in big, loud groups. For the first time, I had a social circle that felt effortless. It wasn't about circumstance or proximity; it was about real connection. And when high school ended, those friends were the only thing I truly felt like I was leaving behind. But, it also reset my expectations. The version of high school I had lived at my own school wasn't the only version out there. There were people — my people — who made everything lighter, funnier, and better. Dicovering that was something I desperately needed to do at that precise point in my life.
We kept it going outside of those events, too — driving to see each other, even flying to visit when the miles between us were too much. And yes ... live music. Guns N' Roses was our obsession. After Use Your Illusion dropped in 1991, we saw them three times and played those albums endlessly. So while the world was ushering in the grunge era, the soundtrack of 1991 for me will forever be G N' F'N R.