by Alexa Wheaton & Hope Kriegel
Part 3 of previous series
After the early accomplishments in life, where did you think you would be after school? What moments can you remember that have changed your life? Do you remember all the advice you were given along the way? Take a look at where the class of 2001 thought they would be compared to where they are now.
Monica (Earley) Hudnut
Monica said when she was a senior, she hoped to be where she is now. She thought she would be married with children and wished to own her own hair salon.
Monica says her life has not changed up too much because she is now a wife, mother and a salon owner. Monica married one of her high school friends, Ryan, and now lives in Montezuma with her family.
Monica’s advice for seniors is, “Enjoy college because it goes too fast! Pick a career that will make you happy, so you enjoy your every day life. Be the type of person you want your children to be. In addition, remember happiness is a journey, not a destination!”
Curtis Michalek
Curtis says, “To be completely honest, I had a rather naive sense of time when I was still in high school. Ten years into the future seemed almost impossible to perceive. It was too far away, so why worry about it?” Curtis said he is now right where he wants to be.
Life has a tendency to become very real once high school is over. As for where Curtis is physically, he believes he will always live around his hometown. Family and friends are a necessity in his life. Some people decide to move away from home after high school, while others choose to stay close. Either way, responsibilities will always be present, and you need to keep a level head about what they are and how you should maintain them.
Curtis feels he is the same person, but better understands himself. High school can be a very confusing time for people, and Curtis was certainly not an exception. Curtis says he has changed for the better and has a more intimate understanding of the kind of person he is, and can still improve on that in the future. He says, "Apart from that, I have less hair on my head and a fonder tendency to appreciate life."
Curtis tells seniors to find a job that they don’t hate and a person they can love. He said, "You will spend most of your time with these two things." He continued, "Learn about the things you enjoy. They are, after all, what makes you who you are."
Jamie Mathes
Jamie says when she was a senior, she thought she would be married with a few children. Ten years later, Jamie says it is not at all where she thought she would be; however, the things that she thought she wanted and what she actually has, are still just as fulfilling.
Jamie’s advice to seniors is, “Live everyday as one day at a time and enjoy every minute, as I am sure you are probably told. Time goes way too fast! It's okay if things do not turn out like you planned when you were 18. Something that is just for you is right around the corner.”
She continued, “You might change your major, and even drop out of your original school choice to maybe go to culinary school or something that is completely ‘off the wall’ but whatever you do, do it for you. Make yourself happy, because you’re the only one you have to answer to.”
Adam Snook
Adam says he knew after he graduated he had a full time position working in the farrowing side of confinement he had worked in through school. Adam is now married to Heather and lives north of Grinnell with three children: Hunter, Chloe and Emma. He is currently an account manager for a large beverage distributor based out of Des Moines and Council Bluffs. He has been with the company for seven years, and says his life has changed by not going and doing whatever after the birth of my first child.
Adam says to seniors today, “Know what you want to do, plan on doing it, but when plans change, don’t be afraid of change. Also, if you feel like nothing is going your way, remember it could always be worse.”
Tiffany Hartgers
When Tiffany was a senior, she saw herself happily married with a couple of kids and teaching elementary school. She now lives in the country, just outside of Montezuma, with her dog while working at a conservative call center in Brooklyn.
Tiffany says her life has changed drastically over the years; especially in the past few months. She is newly single and very excited to start a new chapter in her life!
She tells the seniors of 2011, “Don’t regret anything and always think things through. There are consequences to every action you take. Follow your dreams and do not let anyone come in between them.”
Paige (Slaymaker) Carlson
Paige saw herself married with one child working in a finance/accounting job in the local area. She is now married with a 2-year-old son living south of Searsboro, working as an Investment Accounting Manager at Grinnell College.
After college, Paige realized that life comes with a lot of responsibility. Even though you may have a plan, things might not work out exactly the way you think they will. As long as you have a goal, you can get there, it just might take more time or more work than you think.
Paige advises seniors now to work incredibly hard in high school and college, but do not stop there! School is the easy part. Work hard in everything you do, because anything worth something is going to take hard work.
To be continued...
