Tranquility7 Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 I recently saw a high school pic of some movie star (don’t remember who) and it reminded me of a friend of mine from high school who is now a tv and film actress with a boatload of credits to her name. She is not really famous, but she gets recurring parts on lots of popular tv shows and has also been in a couple of movies (she’s been in Nashville, 24, Revenge, Desperate Housewives, CSI:Miami, Private Practice, Live Free or Die Hard, West Wing, and a slew of other stuff). This girl was in my grade and we ran around with the same group of girls – she was SUCH a sweetheart, genuinely friendly and kind and inclusive of everyone. Pretty, yet not really someone people would take a second look at back then (though my brother did – he was her first boyfriend:)). More interested in studying and making good grades than anything else, as I recall. She was definitely not someone anyone would EVER have expected to become a tv star! A while back she friended me on FB and was very chatty and friendly – her same old sweet self I knew twenty years ago – which was funny because I felt a little strange thinking, “Ummmm, I just saw you on tv two days ago!†So – who has surprised you by what they have become as an adult? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 I can only answer by proxy. I took a post graduate course with a gal who had gone to college with Garth Brooks. She painfully remembered going to visit a friend who lived in a dorm room near his, and finding him (as usual) strumming and singing, suggested he "get a real job." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 I have had a couple people like that me over the years. I see a guy I went to high school with in a lot of commercials, he worked with Jeff Foxworthy. For a while his face was on a lot of merchandise I could not even walk into walmart without seeing him on something. I grew up in the same neighborhood as a guy who has been in a lot of sitcoms and was Neil Patrick Harris' stand in for How I Met Your Mother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davysmom Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 I had a friend who loved to sing and perform. He was not good at it! Now he is lead singer of a fairly well known band. He has improved with age and voice lessons. But he is the last person I thought would make it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 My high school was very tiny so I have a very tiny sample to draw on. My university was big but I have absolutely no idea what happened to anywhere from there. I guess I was surprised that one high school friend became a teacher - his personality was not one that I would have connected with teaching. And I was sadly surprised when a couple of friends have gone to prison or ended up not doing anything at all with their life (as in not supporting themselves etc.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 I guess my school was filled with a bunch of underachievers. :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 I went to high school with the lead to very popular band. He was an ass back then, but we hung out after he'd moved away and came back to visit his dad and he was much nicer. Later, when he came to town touring with different bands we'd meet up after his shows and hang out. We never thought he'd make it big. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Nm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 I was surprised to find that the hunky, football player jock from my high school (none too bright, I thought!) grew up to be a hot-shot accountant/real estate agent/something business-y ... and successful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T'smom Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 A girl that was a couple years behind me in school "won" on a reality show. Another girl was a playboy model. I wasn't really that surprised, but I was a little sad for her. I think she regrets it. She's had a sad life. It was surprising considering the size of town I grew up in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 A friend from high school was a CNN correspondent, assigned to working with Laura Bush, on a regular basis. I always thought she'd do something with kids, so I was surprised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 My awkward, clumsy boyfriend from Junior High grew up to be the most incredibly sweet and romantic Facebook friend you could ever hope to have. When I deactivated my Facebook, he started flirting with me on LinkedIn. He called me a philanthropist! < swoon > He's also extremely successful in the music industry and you would never believe me if I accidentally let personally identifiable information slip out. ;) I think he's just as cool as he thinks I am. :D :D :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 The only thing that surprised me is that so many of the friends I hung out with are single and never married. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest inoubliable Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 The only thing that surprised me was how many of my high school peers DIDN'T end up in prison or on drugs for life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trulycrabby Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 My first husband, who was extremely bright but unambitious and sort of a wastrel, is now a top executive with a very large, luxury hotel chain and lives in China. Maybe shoving him off my couch was the impetus he needed to get going in life. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 ^^ "Sort of a wastrel"--I'm going to have to work that into a conversation sometime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nd293 Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 The younger sister of one of my close childhood friends was incredibly mousy and very disorganised, even ditzy. She went to university, studied aeronautics and became a pilot. We'd lost touch well before then, so I'm not sure if those characteristics persisted beyond childhood or not! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrixieB Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 My awkward, clumsy boyfriend from Junior High grew up to be the most incredibly sweet and romantic Facebook friend you could ever hope to have. When I deactivated my Facebook, he started flirting with me on LinkedIn. He called me a philanthropist! < swoon > He's also extremely successful in the music industry and you would never believe me if I accidentally let personally identifiable information slip out. ;) I think he's just as cool as he thinks I am. :D :D :D Oooh... did he happen to recently release a grammar-related music video? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 One of dh's friends from school was a major druggie and didn't do well in school. Had a kid as a teenager and seemed pretty much destined to live the same life as an adult. FFWD 20 years, he is still married to the same girl from his teen years. His drug sales profits helped him to get his pilots license either as a teen or early 20s. He now owns and runs a successful and reputable flying school in our hometown. Back in the day, 'flying high' had a totally different connotation when his name was mentioned. I know a few people who have had amazing careers in the arts, but they weren't surprises. It was pretty obvious from the beginning they would be successful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamato4 Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Quite a number of my old high school classmates have surprised me. One guy is now an architecture and food photographer and has won awards for his books. Never thought he would amount to anything. One girl who was very quiet and totally under everybody's radar now sings opera in NYC and is a published illustrator. This is why I tell my kids now to be friends with everyone in school and to never let stereotyping stop them from getting to know other kids, especially the quiet ones, who may turn out to be very interesting people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 I grew up in the same town and went to high school at the same time as Nathan Filion. Sadly, I did not know him. It's hard to think I was that close, though (me and a few thousand other high school students). :drool5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsTheDay Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 The only thing that surprised me was how many of my high school peers DIDN'T end up in prison or on drugs for life. Yes, same here, and I'll add "or dead." A bunch of white, upper middle class kids at a high school known for drugs who mostly landed on their (our?) feet. I can't believe the number of aimless, burnout guys who ended up with real jobs. And Harleys. I guess their parents laid the foundations, because they sure weren't around when we were growing up. Honestly, it's one reason I love FB because I can see how things turned out for so many people. It's not ALL good, but it is for the most part. On a more personal level, out of me and my three best friends, the two of us with the least parental supervision ended up with "normal" lives. The other two had much more stable home lives, but one died recently of her alcoholism, and the other fought a vicious ~5 year battle with meth (and won). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 The only surprise I can think of is my brother's best friend. Didn't get along with his parents and was a bit iffy growing up. Turns out he is beyond Mensa intelligent and has done a wide variety of things from volunteer firefighting and being at ground zero right after 9-11 to dancing with the Denver Ballet. I believe he is a CIA agent, though my brother vehemently denies it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 I've been kind of surprised so many stayed in the area. Of course, I was anxious to leave and never really did, sigh. I've also been surprised about certain classmates that ended up married. One friend who I lost touch with works for the FBI. She was always smart, calm, straight-laced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 I used to sit next to one young man a lot in my high school because our last names were similar. I was a dorky kid and he was kind to me, so I liked him for that. I found out he is in jail. Apparently, he and his mom were embezzling money from a company. When coworkers found out, he hired a hit man to kill the coworkers. Fortunately, his evil plot was discovered before his hit man completed the job. I suppose he's a bad egg, but he was nice to the nerdy girl he used to have to sit next to in school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 A murderer. :huh: A boy I went to school with ended up killing his girlfriend rather horrifically and I remember him as being sweet and funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storygirl Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 My brother. Growing up, he was rebellious and disrespectful and mean. Didn't get along with my parents, and had screaming fights with my mom almost daily. He almost flunked out of high school and did fail out of college. He would sleep until 2 pm whenever he didn't have to get up for school. He bullied me. Now he is a very conservative CPA who got straight A's when he returned to college. He works with my dad and gets up by 6 am daily, even on weekends. He became a devoted family man when he got married about ten years ago. His stepdaughter recently had a baby, so he's now a grandpa at age 47. Total turnaround. He still has a prickly personality at times, but I never expected his life would turn out this way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 My brother really surprised us all. He didn't like school. He only showed up to be able to keep playing sports. He barely graduated. Today, he co-owns a successful international company peripherally related to the oil industry. He started at the ground floor of that industry and worked his way up until he and a few other colleagues decided they should make a go of their own company. Along the way, he got his MBA, too. It just goes to show you that school performance is not always an indicator of anything at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 one girl I grew up with (as in went to school with from elementary through high school but was never friends with) was in cadets as a teen. She grew up to now be a big wig in winnipeg running all of cadets for western canada (and has used her role to benefit my son to remove restrictions placed on him shooting so he could stay on the team). Another girl from high school is now a published writer of children's non-fiction. A 3rd is an opera singer and travels between her apt in New York and over seas touring. Jerome Iginla was in my high school math class. One of the girls I grew up with is now a model. I knew some of these people more than others but was never really friends with any of them. My graduating class had 350+ students, we were from a small affluent city (as in a population of about 44K back then) and I think that is why so many went on to things like that.A boy my sister dated was in a garage band with friends in high school (he was the bass player), in fact he was at my oldest son's 1st birthday party. Anyway, his band actually made it, though I have not heard if they are still together since I never listened to that sort of music.One of the boys from our old homeschool group in the city is an actor in LA. They were an unschooling family, boy was interested in acting and was part of many local groups and good at it so the family picked up and moved to LA. He is Mr. Young on YTV's show Mr. Young. My kids like to point out to people who know that show that they used to play with him at the park when they were all just little kids. His brother attended the same cheer leading club my dd was in (a couple years ahead of her) and from what I heard last he is on competitive teams down in LA but he is not in the limelight like his brother is.Now of all those people the only ones that really surprised me were the band (I mean really high school garage bands are a dime a dozen they don't usually actually get recording contracts, and songs on the radio etc) and the homeschooled boy because everyone thought they were nuts to sell their house here just to follow a whim of acting their son had and to move to a whole different country to give him a shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 My first husband, who was extremely bright but unambitious and sort of a wastrel, is now a top executive with a very large, luxury hotel chain and lives in China. Maybe shoving him off my couch was the impetus he needed to get going in life. :) You know I wonder the same thing about my ex. When we were together left the army and became a lazy, drunken lay about. Refused to work often because it was all beneath him and he wanted a quick and easy buck, preferring a hand out to working etc. He did become an EMT while we were together but was forever looking for new work because he thought where he was wasn't good enough. After we split he spent the next 10 years actually getting more training and getting a good job and staying with it for more than a year. Now 13 years later he has an excellent job in oil field medical/safety sales and makes 100K a year (when we were still married he was luck to bring in $30K a year and he spent much of it on booze with friends even though we have babies at home), rarely drinks, has a beautiful home etc. I think it really did take me leaving with the kids for him to get that wake up call and grow up and get on with life. Now his soon to be new wife gets to reap the benefits of that. (She can keep him haha, but I still think I am part of how he became who he is now) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 You know I wonder the same thing about my ex. I don't about mine. When I call him "dxh", it isn't a typo, but he was not very dear during our marriage and coparenting because he was struggling with substance abuse. He has thanked me for ending our marriage because he feels that it was the "wake up call" that saved his life. We found out about addictive personalities later on in our coparenting journey and only an incredibly strong person could have pulled himself out of that a second time with alcohol instead of the other thing. I was literally checking out funeral homes because he had never changed his "in case of emergency" contact and it didn't look like he would last more than a few more months. He remembers very little about our marriage and not much about how destructive he could be during our coparenting years, but he did come out on the other side and is now happily married to a wonderful woman, playing music again, and entering his 60s as a wise elder and a close friend who is very, VERY dear to me so I will not reverse the "x" and the "d" to "fit in" or avoid questions and confrontations. I am glad that he is still alive. Our son together reminds me of him in a good way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 I am surprised how many people in my graduating class are now conservative Christians. When I went to school religion seemed to be the furthest thing from anyone's mind. Drinking, drugs, sex were the name of the game even for the jocks and student council reps. They don't call the 80's the decade of decadence for nothing! But all the ones who seemed destined for jail or an early death are now really religious. I come from a really boring small city outside of Detroit and it seems like nothing interesting ever comes out of my town. I do have one friend who wanted to be an actor and has had some small parts in movies and TV. So I guess that's something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 One guy who I was acquainted with worked on Pres. Clinton's security detail. I have actually had several people tell me I was the shock. Good grades but a total wild child party animal in high school. Not the pick to become a Sunday School teaching mother of 7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 A friend from high school is in command of a naval vessel. While I know a lot of people in the various service branches, this one was a surprise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 I am surprised how many people in my graduating class are now conservative Christians. When I went to school religion seemed to be the furthest thing from anyone's mind. Drinking, drugs, sex were the name of the game even for the jocks and student council reps. They don't call the 80's the decade of decadence for nothing! But all the ones who seemed destined for jail or an early death are now really religious. This for me, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy in Australia Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 One of my cousins (one year younger than me) was the poster child for class clowns; I'm sure he had some form of ADD, couldn't sit still, was constantly skipping school in high school, getting into minor forms of trouble & generally making his mother lose her will to live. He is now something big & technical at Eurocopter (I think they changed their name recently) & is a great husband & father. Interestingly, when forced to, he learned English better & more quickly than both his siblings (his company got a contract in Australia & sent him). His father (my mother's brother) was similar in his youth & became one of the top managers in Air France. It gives me hope for one of my DS' who is a carbon-copy of my cousin :001_rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassenach Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 One of my high school BFs became a club girl(?). I really have no idea what she does. It appears she gets hired to go look sexy at clubs. Sometimes I wonder if it's more of an escort service. She's also had a ton of plastic surgery. She was the straight edge church girl in high school. Dh went to high school with Fergie. I think we were more surprised that she didn't die of an OD than we were that she became famous. Her dad was a beloved teacher at my high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 One of my high school BFs became a club girl(?). I really have no idea what she does. It appears she gets hired to go look sexy at clubs. Sometimes I wonder if it's more of an escort service. She's also had a ton of plastic surgery. She was the straight edge church girl in high school. Dh went to high school with Fergie. I think we were more surprised that she didn't die of an OD than we were that she became famous. Her dad was a beloved teacher at my high school. Is that Fergie the Dutchess of York - or is there now a different Fergie I'm clueless about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAMom Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 One of my dearest high school friends who was a bridesmaid in my wedding is now serving as a Congresswoman. I always knew she would be a lawyer but was surprised she went on to Congress. It's always funny when I see her pop up on Chris Matthews or some other program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassenach Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Is that Fergie the Dutchess of York - or is there now a different Fergie I'm clueless about? Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fergie_(singer) I have no idea how appropriate, or more likely, inappropriate this video is, but it's probably their most well known song. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassenach Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 A murderer. :huh: A boy I went to school with ended up killing his girlfriend rather horrifically and I remember him as being sweet and funny. I used to sit next to one young man a lot in my high school because our last names were similar. I was a dorky kid and he was kind to me, so I liked him for that. I found out he is in jail. Apparently, he and his mom were embezzling money from a company. When coworkers found out, he hired a hit man to kill the coworkers. Fortunately, his evil plot was discovered before his hit man completed the job. I suppose he's a bad egg, but he was nice to the nerdy girl he used to have to sit next to in school. A really, really nice (and cute) guy that was in our circle of friends and his girlfriend went to jail for embezzling money from the bank they both worked at. It was a total surprise, but it happened right after high school and I think he was just young and scared (she was pregnant). When they got caught, she pretty much threw him under the bus. I do wonder where his life went from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MFG Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 A woman from my high school class has a career as a fairly well known news correspondent/anchor. Knowing her in hs, I am not that surprised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 I had intended to be exclusively career oriented...piano performance. I said I would never teach - the music ed degree was "fallback position" - and I was not all that enthralled with the concept of marriage and children. I met dh, married him my junior year, had four kids and only a limited performance career, ended up teaching and LOVED it, and found my most rewarding musical work to be mjsic therapy. I had gone to a ridiculous private school and maintained my children would attend PS IF I ever had any. Then I homeschoole all four. You just never know where life is going to take you. I certainly do not have any regrets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 I can only answer by proxy. I took a post graduate course with a gal who had gone to college with Garth Brooks. She painfully remembered going to visit a friend who lived in a dorm room near his, and finding him (as usual) strumming and singing, suggested he "get a real job." Ha....I saw Garth at the state fair....booked before he became famous and held after he had a huge hit of some sort.....he told this story from the stage....."my friend comes into my room and says, Garth, why do you keep playing that song over and over and over?' And I said to my friend, because I am going to be a star'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ocelotmom Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 I found out just yesterday that a guy in my brother's class apparently was killed in a shootout with the police when they tried to arrest him for child abuse after a cross-country manhunt and being featured on "The Hunt". The name vaguely rings a bell, but I couldn't place him. Several members of our high school water polo team at the time I attended ended up on the US olympic team the past two olympics. One of my teachers has apparently ended up being a major voice in the Israel/Palestinian conflict. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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