An Education

As you grow up you learn many things and it's true, you are never too old to learn something new.  I have learned that the first slaves ever recorded were actually white.  They were Slavic, so it doesn't get much whiter than that!  I've learned that "shunggal tea" (spelled how it sounds!) is "come here please" in Arabic.  I have learned almost everything there is about 35 mm film and how to fix problems with it.  But have you ever learned a something about someone who was once in your life?  Something that, you never knew and changes a lot of things about that person?  I recently learned something about a friend from High School.  The specifics are not important and very private, I don't really feel it was something that I was ever suppose to know.  So I will not share the details, but I will say this, it completely changes my vunderstanding of this person.  When I say that they were a friend I mean that I knew them and talked to them and at one point was a very good friend of theirs.  But time changes people and they drift apart.  This person changed a lot during High School and I thought I knew why but I was very wrong.  This person came from a home that was very, shall we say, restricted.  As in all their life, only "G" rated movies were allowed.  I'm sure that there were other restrictions but this is the one I was told of.  So when they got into college, it was no shock they went a little wild.  This person did a complete 180 from who she was.  When I learned this secret, it changed a lot for me.  It's one of those secrets that makes you feel bad.  Bad for it happening in the first place and bad that you didn't help the person it happened to.  There is nothing I can do about it now but I can't help but wonder if I could have helped?  If it would have changed things between us.  Maybe we wouldn't have drifted apart as much, although I feel that was inevitable.  Its sad that finding a horrible truth makes me realize how little I did know about my friend.  I can understand why they didn't tell me and I guess I am glad that they didn't.  I don't think I could have handled it as a kid.  Still, I wish I could have done something, been there for them in some way.  It still is a secret that I'm sure that I'm not suppose to know so now I feel trapped.  Trapped by the education on my friend for I can't say anything to them about it to learn more and I can't say nothing.  I guess just a "how are things" will just have to do.