Monday, August 17, 2009

Worth remembering? Debatable.

I have lost a few more memories. Well, I didn't actually lose them, I threw them away. Every few years, I go through the childhood keepsake box and toss a few more items. I am finally down to one small box with the teddy bear I got at a police station in Switzerland, my parent's wedding cake topper, my baby shoes, a yearbook, and a random pile of news clippings.

This year I parted with the top speaker award that I won at a debate tournament in high school. It was a small wooden gavel with a little brass plate that said Third Speaker Emory '89. I won it at a debate camp I attended during the summer before my senior year. The camp was pretty expensive, but I my coach and I sold Krispy Kreme donuts to raise money to cover the costs.

The camp experience was a mixed bag, my debate partner and I were both from public schools and one of the coaches ended up handing over some of our best research to a couple of the private school kids who always placed at the top of the state competitions and toured the national circuit. Still, I remember being so excited about the award because the competition was pretty tough and I had big dreams of attending Emory University. Just six months later, about halfway through my senior year, I would find out that my parents couldn't afford the private university tuition, even with the partial scholarship I had already been awarded.

I wonder if I will remember any of that stuff now that I have tossed the gavel in the trash.

I wonder if I even want to.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I would love it if my memories of high school debate -- particularly camp -- along with any evidence of hair styles and clothing would go poof.