The Underpants Project

Rewind

The other night dreamed that I was back in 1996 again, except I knew everything that I know now. I was sitting around with my friends and they were all having a good time, laughing and joking and generally being the fun loving 22 year olds that we all were at the time. The thing was, it made me really sad because they had no idea what was going to happen in later years. I felt really bad for everyone because there were so many bad things they didn't know about. One's mother would be dead in two years. My then-boyfriend would end up hating me. One's father would die a few years later. Our lives would all go in completely different directions and I would eventually lose touch with them all. For everything we had in common then, we would be nothing more than strangers to one another by 2005.

I tried to tell them about September 11, 2001 and the wars that followed in Afghanistan and Iraq. I wanted them to know that things were going to get really fucking complicated - there would be some events that would change our lives in major ways and other events that would affect us in ways more subtle, yet no less defining. It never occured to me to mention any of the good things that would happen - I guess the dream wasn't about that anyway.

I hope I get to dream about 1996 again. This time I'll tell them all the good news - if I can figure out what that is...

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