  I too fondly remember a time when I could fit both legs into a single pantleg of my size 30 waist JNCOs in the 4th grade. I also remember the furious discussions with my father after covering them in grass stains playing football at recess. It is an era I will forever remember with a twinge of longing in my heart. I believe the same will be true once I exit high school.
In the elementary years all my friends and I could think about was reaching middle school, and now I wish I had savored those moments. Understanding this time conundrum, I refuse to make the same mistakes twice. Not even in the most boring, drawn out day of high school will I ever say “Man, I wish I was in college,” because I know I’ll blink my eyes and be a forty year old man sitting in a recliner in my underwear with a beer on the table and a hand in my drawls as an homage to Al Bundy.
For a seventeen-year-old that is a terrifying thought and one I’m not ready to accept, but that day is point B, and fortunately I’m still at point A. But unlike my 11-year-old self, this time I’m going to enjoy the journey. Today I still wear size 30 waist pants, only they fit a little differently. -Ryan PS – Pat and Ryan – stunning resemblance, but I think it’s Alf, (Alien Life Form) 
