The "It" Girl

I went to a barbecue this weekend for a friend from college. I was expecting to see the usual faces there. When out of no where--she was there. The "It" girl. You know the one. She was the one with the perfect clothes, the perfect life, the one that everyone loved, and the one that never gave you the time of day. Daddy is a plastic surgeon. Spring Break vacations were always spent somewhere fabulous, with a brand new wardrobe to go along. In the mornings, she would lay out her outfits on her door--always a label, always perfect. She worked out and had a great figure. All the cute boys talked to her. And everyone knew who she was.

Needless to say, not much has changed since. Except for now, she is pretty nice and you cannot help but to genuinely like her. Before I realized who she was, I had been admiring her from the backside--cute jeans, cute shoes, cute top. Come to find out she is 5 months pregnant and still manages to look as cute and sassy as always. She is an attorney. Husband is an orthodontist. They were in town for a mini-triathalon--"I was going to compete, but then I thought I had better not since I am preganant." Really?!? Because you ain't ever gonna catch me in a triathalon, mini or not, pregnant or not! She is just so stinking perfect and I could feel myself green with envy all over again.

Our 10 year college reunion is just around the corner. So we were discussing whether she plans to attend or no. Me? Well, I was the biggest dufus in college. Total dork. Totally ugly. I did not hang out with anyone, or attend all the cool parties. Unfortunately, I have some friends on the committee and they are really pressuring me to go. No one is going to remember me. And it will bring up all kinds of awkward feelings all over again. So I have every reason to not be excited about attending, right? Yet, I am going. Her on the other hand has every reason to go. She was the "It" girl afterall. Everyone will remember her. Plus she has the picture perfect life everyone expected. Yet, she is not that keen on it and probably won't be there.

I guess the lesson I learned is that people can and do change. We all grow up and even the "It" girl moves on. It was actually pretty cool to see her. I can see why she was so very popular. I really think she was and is a good person and therefore people were and continue to be drawn to her. She seems really genuine. Values family a lot. And I think friends, too. I guess I missed out by not getting to know her back then. Maybe it was my own awkwardness that put up what seems was probably an artificial barrier between us. And it is probably my insecurities that have continued to prevent me from giving her a chance up until now. I am glad I did. And now I think I too can move on.