A blast from the past

I saw an old "friend" today on a social network page. I say "friend" but really she was an acquaintance - a friend of my sister. When I was a teen ager I looked up to her and wanted to be like her. She was outgoing, talented, good at everything she did, and was always the center of attention. Not that I wanted to be the center of attention cause I was so shy, but, well, yeah, the center of attention!
I had heard that in college she got into some moral problems and was kicked out of school for what ever it was that she did. I also heard that that caused her to leave the church. I'm not judging her, it's just that, well that was what I had heard...
I always thought she had a great singing voice and she could play the guitar like a pro. (She was kinda the reason I always wanted to play the guitar.) In some of the on-line photos I saw of her this afternoon, it looks as if she has a band and is still singing and playing her guitar. In fact she doesn't live that far from me - in Salt Lake City. However, I don't plan on looking her up anytime soon.
My thoughts after seeing her photos and stuff are this: there was such a different air about the person I knew in High School and the person I saw in those pictures today. Of course, in high school I think I lived in a bubble and there were a lot of people I admired. And today, I am more of a realist. I wouldn't quite say I was a cynic, but I think I have fewer people I look up to or want to emulate. At any rate she looked happy in the photos with her friends and her band. She looked like she had found success in life. She was definitely being the center of attention. But I also noticed that there were no family type pictures. No kids of her own, no siblings, just friends and her. It made me kind of sad for her. I know I would be nothing with out my family.
My Mom is my hero, my brothers and sisters are my best friends and my husband is my constant companion - the love of my life. My kids are my life! These are the reasons I get up every morning. Don't get me wrong I love my friends - they keep me grounded - but life with out family is just sad and lonely.
I am thankful for my family! I'm glad I stayed on the path I started out on as a kid. I'm glad that things that were important to me as a child are still important to me now, as an adult - family, that's what matters!