The Governor 2002

Though nearly five years old, its condition remains the same as it did on graduation day – shiny on the outside and filled with years of memories on the inside, The Governor 2002 its cover read. It was the last yearbook I would ever buy from Goochland High School.

I made sure that every person meaning anything to me during high school had signed it, but there was just one signature missing. I searched over the sea of white and red caps and gowns to find the one person who was yet to autograph my yearbook.

Pen in hand and book securely tucked under my arm, I ran the moment I saw Jenny Harvell. I quickly handed her the book and waited anxiously for her to finish writing.

Suddenly, I felt a tug at my arm and realized it was my mother pointing in the direction of my family who had come to congratulate me.

Though Jenny had not yet finished, we were sure that we would be seeing a lot of each other that summer, so I left my book with her and followed the lead of my mother.

Unfortunately, that was the last I saw of my yearbook and one of the last times since graduation I saw Jenny.

Jenny was one of my best friends since fifth grade at Goochland Elementary School. We were both known as the athletic girls of our grade. We were always the first to finish the mile during physical fitness tests, we were the stars of the kick ball court, and we were the best infielders on the softball field our side of the James River. So, it is not very hard to see why we became such great friends.

We remained close throughout middle school and became even closer in high school after a tragic accident took the lives of my brother and boyfriend. It was a tragedy that hit her nearly as hard as it did me and, as a result, we were able to find comfort in one another. This comfort created a bond we were sure would stand to test time. I guess we were wrong.

In fact, it was not until I received an IM from an unfamiliar screen name nearly a month ago that Jenny and I reacquainted ourselves with one another.

A box popped up on my screen that read: “Hey Erica, it’s Jenny. I was at my mom’s house the other night and I found your yearbook in my closet. I am sure you’d like it back, so just give me a call.”

Pleasantly surprised, I replied immediately to what became an hour’s worth of talk about our ever-changing lives.

Jenny is now working at an office in Richmond, Virginia as a secretary. After two years of college, Jenny realized that school, at least at that time, was just not right for her. She enjoys her current job though and feels it was a good career move.

She is dating Ryan Haskell, also a graduate of Goochland High School, and says
they have been together for three years.

When I asked if she thought he was ‘the one,’ she said, “We haven’t really talked about that. We know we love each other, but right now we have a lot of things we want to accomplish before that point.”

Though she is happy with her life, she also said that, by nature of our hometown, her life is pretty uneventful. She spends her free time at the gym and occasionally goes out with her friends.

“Other than that, Ryan and I hang out at home and relax,” she said.

As we continued to talk, I realized our lives could not be much more different. I go to school five hours from home and live a pretty vicarious lifestyle with not much room for routine, where as she is settled with a job and a home.

In just five years, one of my closest childhood friends became a face from the past. Jenny and I were always so much alike, but it seems now that the only thing linking us together, other than a few dying memories, is my yearbook that Jenny never finished signing.