Memories From Duluth High School

I grew up in Duluth, Georgia... a small town in Gwinnett County.  There I attended elementary, middle, and high school.  During my senior year, due to the growth of the area that we were living in, my family decided to move.  So in December of 1997,  we moved about twenty miles northeast of Duluth.  I finished up my senior year at Duluth High School.  The school was growing quickly, and when I graduated, the population was around two-thousand, although I am sure it has grown by now.  I was a smart kid, but did not graduate with honors.  Still, I was in several clubs, including Beta Club (for a short time), Habitat for Humanity, and Interact.  I liked community service, and helping those that were less fortunate than myself.  Every Saturday morning, during my senior year (excluding mornings of which I had to work), several of my friends and myself met in front of the high school at seven-thirty in the morning, and drove to downtown Atlanta, where we worked in a warehouse building houses for the homeless.  It was a lot of fun because I was with my friends, we were working for a good cause, and afterwards we got to eat at the Varsity.  From those of you from other areas of the country, if you ever come to Atlanta... be sure that you stop at the Varsity.  Other activities I worked at included the Festival of Trees, which is held downtown every Christmas.  The end result of my work, was that I graduated with a blue community service chord on my gown.  It wasn't much for looks, but it made me feel good all the same.  In a class of over four hundred, I was ranked around one hundred and fifty... not the genious of the world, but I did do well.  I took Advanced Placement Calculus, and Psychology during my senior year, and after taking the AP exams, walked away with college credit.

This is our little 'group' from English class, Junior year.  Every week we brought in candy and had our little "English Parties," hehe.  Here I am with my friends, Ashley, Jessica (who is at Berry with me), Sarah (who is at Berry with me), and Melissa.  We had a good ole time.  I'll never forget those days.  I wonder if the tradition has continued?

This is a photo of me on the last day of high school in 1998.  I'm wearing our class shirts that say "Absolute 100% Pure Senior."  Kind of corny, and when I look back on it, I wouldn't wear that these days.  I'm next to my Ford Ranger, which I truly loved.  What an awesome truck it was.  Anyways, this is what I used to look like in high school.

At the close of my senior year, I had the opportunity to go on our Senior Class Trip to Cancun, Mexico.  I roomed with my best friends from high school, Jordan, Scot, Jim, and Stephen.  We stayed at an all-inclusive resort, and it was pretty close to paradise.  My only suggestion... get bus drivers that can drive within the lines... it was pretty scary.  Those who went on the trip discovered my singing ability.  We went out on a party boat to an island, where we had dinner.  Afterwards, after raising my hand, went on the stage in front of eight hundred high school and college students, and young adults, to compete in a karaoke contest.  Well, I sung La Bamba (I didn't know the words, since it was in Spanish, but the audience believed me).  I won second place... and what did I get??? Nothing!!!  Still, it was a great trip, and a good way to say goodbye to my friends from high school, although we still keep in touch, which is good.