Thank Goodness for Thanksgiving

How do people think they know you? Why do people make snap judgments about us that sometimes seem to be right on and sometimes aren't even close? I ask because while I was home for Turkey Day I ran into an old high school friend. Our lives are vastly different now.

He's married, has a son, has a job as a nurse, owns a house.

I have none of these things.

Furthermore, it had been years since we had talked or communicated in any manner. In almost every way, it was like we didn't know each other anymore.

I mentioned to him that I was thinking of going back to school to be a physician's assistant. He replied that he thought I'd be good at it.

What was his reply based on I wonder? Does he know that I enjoy binge drinking and unprotected sex? That I've ingested illicit substances in alleys with hobos? Are all of these things simply superficial aspects of my life that don't determine who I am (that would be great by the way). Or can he simply see who I was and know that deep inside of me that existed person is still there waiting to get out and help the world?

Thoughts?