I know it’s a function of our memories and things looking bigger when we’re younger, so I’m sure I’m not alone in this, but it is odd (interesting?) that if we visit something as an adult that we remember well as child, it always seems smaller, doesn’t it?
For example, when I was a kid (elementary-school age) my parents went somewhat regularly to a restaurant nearby. I recall that restaurant being a very large, almost cavernous place. I recently had the opportunity to revisit that restaurant and was surprised at how incredibly small it looked inside. Not huge, not cavernous; just very average-sized, at best. Age and our memories can play cruel tricks on us that way. Do our brains shrink, or do just our memories?
So, the reason I bring this up is because I had the interesting experience of visiting my high school this past weekend for the first time since I graduated (a looooong time ago). My high school was, and still is, huge. At one time, I recall, it was the largest school (student-wise, at about 4,000 students ) in the state of Virginia. Physically it s a very large building. At the time I attended school there, it was huge. I recall it being just so massive.
This past weekend I was in the neighborhood and, on a whim, decided to drive by. I have driven through that neighborhood on a few occasions since I graduated, so seeing it from the outside again was not a new experience. From the outside, it hasn’t changed much — there had been some minor modifications, but nothing that altered it significantly in size and shape.
When driving by this particular weekend however, I saw that the front door was open and people were steadily streaming in and out of it. Seeing a golden opportunity, I shut off the car and thought “I wonder if I can sneak inside and take a look around?” I HAD to see what it looked like inside, to see what it looked like inside and see if my memory matched reality. With all the people coming and going, I figured it would be easy to look conspicuous if I were to wander in.
So I went in…
