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Things aren't always as you remember them

I have been on this site forever and a day.
I seen on my profile that I wrote I was here to meet people and to maybe share some stories from my life.
I have lived a pretty extreme life due to some issues out of my control.

It seems like I write a lot about how crappy my life was growing up.
I had a horrible home life and just didn't fit in with anyone at school.
But it is funny because just as most mornings I am sitting here drinking my morning coffee watching the sun come up and reflecting.

The negative in my life apparently has completely outshined a two-year window that I experienced towards the end of school.
I was a horrible academic failure so I was super qualified for my last two years of high school to attend a trade school.

The trade school students were from different schools from all over the county.
I believe it was my first day there that I met an amazing person.
Norman. Norman was what I can only think to describe as a friend making machine. The man could enter the zombie apocalypse and come out with 12 close new zombie friends.
He lived out in farming country and didn't have access to very many people to hang out with beings as the houses are so far apart.
Norman was constantly introducing me to new people. This was kind of new to me being as I had such a hard time fitting in at my on school as long as I could remember.
It didn't take Norman very long before he had accumulated about 10 or 12 new friends. Not just people that he knew at school but these are people that he would do things with outside of school as well.
In a few short months my status as the "don't let this happen to you crowd party of one" became a small Network.
These guys were great. They were fun, smart and resourceful.
Between these 10 or 12 guys we never had trouble finding alcohol or drugs. We could always assemble three or four cars to tote everyone around in. It kind of turned into a Non-Stop party.
There was always some form of excitement to be had in this group without trying to very hard.
Every Friday after school we would all meet out to Norman's house to figure out what we were going to do for the weekend.
When you have that many young men in close proximity of one another that often you would be amazed at the stuff we could come up with to get into.
We made bombs and flamethrowers. We had road course races with two or three cars breaking all kinds of laws attempting to be the first to the destination. Some were musicians and we would get together and have jam sessions occasionally. We would attend people's parties and soon become the entertainment in some way. It was a very eventful couple of years in my life. I actually had a chance to become very social. Actually, that was where I learned how to be social.

So I guess during my reflection this morning I realized that the negative things that happen in your life can often outshine the positive just because of the amount of influence the negative can hold over you.
Let's face it no one ever had to go see a counselor because their life was way too eventful and fun.
GLITTER · 36-40, F
Thank you for sharing that story! Sounds like you had a right good time with these guys. I think often when you are feeling like shit your brain only focuses on the negatives and it’s like you never dreamed you were ever able to laugh before, no matter how many times you did and know you did. Remembering little things like this that made our childhoods, they can really restore you and remind you of who you are! Those moments of reflection are so wonderful
Dainbramadge · 56-60, M
@GLITTER we did have a lot of fun in those two years.
We made a lot of lasting memories.
The kind you can share with your children.
Most of the ones that I share with my children are things you should not do. LOL
GLITTER · 36-40, F
@Dainbramadge best to have the advice straight from the horses mouth lol
ShadowWorker · 61-69, F
I enjoyed the read. Thanks for sharing. Blessings!
Dainbramadge · 56-60, M
@ShadowWorker thank you for reading and commenting.:-)
SW-User
The man could enter the zombie apocalypse and come out with 12 close new zombie friends.

You are a good writer!!
Dainbramadge · 56-60, M
@SW-User That is very nice. Thank you.
JustNik · 51-55, F
I loved this. 😄😄 The negative likes to suck the life out of us, use up all our energy, make us forget the positive. Today, you flipped it the finger. 😂👍 I hope the rest of your day is just as light! 🤗
Dainbramadge · 56-60, M
@JustNik When the negative oversteps the positive in a long-term scenario it really does suck the life right out of you.
With me, I also had the added ingredient of being bipolar.
So throw that in a blender and see what comes out. LOL
Yeah this morning all of a sudden I realized that most of what I share is about all of the negative crap that happened to me.
Even though the good was in small packages compared to the amount of bad it was still really really good when it was good. :-)
Thank you for your comment and reading
WhateverWorks · 36-40
Thank you for writing this. It’s a worthwhile thing to contemplate while I sip at my morning coffee trying to get my day rolling. I’ve got an ax to grind about what people sometimes called ‘toxic positivity’ (suppression and invalidating someone’s experience guised as a pro-health, helpful attitude), but it’s definitely true that if a negative experience hits the right notes at the right time we can become hyper focused on that impression to such an extent that we overlook a lot of good, even significant good.
Dainbramadge · 56-60, M
@WhateverWorks well I am going to tell you my new catchphrase to use on my boss in the morning will be toxic positivity. LOL
I mean it just rolls off the tongue and feels like a big wet sloppy kiss from a cow. LOL
Your comment spurred another thought.
A while ago I wrote about these concerns I had with possible anger issues that I have. In the post I refer to something I had heard about having a white wolf and a black wolf that lives inside of us. The white wolf is everything good the black wolf is everything bad.
They are in a constant battle to control you.
The punch line of that story is the wolf that wins will be the one you feed.
We can't turn a complete blind eye to the negative aspects that have had a huge part in shaping our present situations.
But just like with the white wolf and the black wolf we have to spend an equal amount of time focused on both the good and the bad.
I guess that would actually be the definition of living a balanced life mentally and emotionally.
Thank you for your comment and reading.
carpediem · 61-69, M
That was rather inspiring. Thanks for sharing that
Dainbramadge · 56-60, M
@carpediem Thank you for reading.
It just seemed like the thing that I could share that might help someone realize that it's really easy to focus on the bad and overlooked the good.
bookerdana · M
The man could enter the zombie apocalypse and come out with 12 close new zombie friends. 😂🤣

I didn't do as many wild and crazy things b/c no one had a car in senior year ...ah,I made up for it,you social butterfly🐙..no butterfly emoji
bookerdana · M
@Dainbramadge I believe Playboy Magazine had a top 20 drinking schools with an asterisk..ST Johns University(The University I attended ) is not listed..we consider them professional drinkers😁
Dainbramadge · 56-60, M
@bookerdana no room for amateurs. LOL
It's a go big or go home kind of world out there. :-)
bookerdana · M
@Dainbramadge They opened the Rathskeller at 12 noon....before that we had to make the arduous task across the street
Lostpoet · M
I like the zombie bit about your friend making friends that was funny. I think we reflect on things by what we are feeling in the moment and the fact that you are thinking of friends and good times means that you were in a good mood yourself. And you still have friends and the good times will come back. 🤔☕ I need coffee and an open window 🪟 to stare longingly out of.
Jeephikelove · 51-55, F
Thank you for sharing. ☺️
Dainbramadge · 56-60, M
@Jeephikelove it's funny because other people have told me that I have interesting things that I should be sharing.
I always felt I was sharing a huge amount of myself when I would make these nine paragraph long comments on someone else's post.
I guess I just needed to be told more people will read the post then we'll read the comment.
Thank you for your comment and reading. :-)
SW-User
what if you get to see them by rare chance because you found them your lover?
Dainbramadge · 56-60, M
@SW-User I'm not sure I can follow.
SW-User
@Dainbramadge too bad...
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Dainbramadge · 56-60, M
@Stereoguy Just about the only ones that I have kept in contact with over the years are of course Norman and one other buddy who is living with me at the moment.
After school I moved out of state for a few years and a couple of the other guys joined the army.
A few of the other guys also moved out of state.
We didn't have internet back then so it wasn't as easy to keep up with one another.
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Lilnonames · F
Like mine..... Zoom zoom

[image/video deleted]
Dainbramadge · 56-60, M
@Lilnonames I think your zoom zoom is full of good memories. :-)
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