Kidnapped by my dreams

Have you ever felt like you never truly belonged in the family and place you were born into? I feel like that daily! I come from a long line of anthropologists of all sorts. My parents are archaeologists. I know you’re thinking Indiana Jones/Raiders of the lost Ark, that’s so cool! Which, okay I guess it might be if you think of it like that, but that’s Hollywood glamour, my friends. It is not real life. They spend so much time chasing artifact after artifact that our dining room table has collected dust. There is no one ever home to eat at it.

I had to rely on housekeepers, a nanny, and so many tutors just to get through my life. I know you’re probably thinking “So, you got to basically do whatever you wanted for as long as you wanted? Why are you complaining?” The truth is, I always wanted to sit down at the dining room table and talk about our day, have a family game or movie night, play at the park on weekends. You know stuff families do together. The only time we did anything as a family was when we hosted parties for colleagues of my parents. When I told them that I had no plans to follow in the generational footsteps of my family, they got so mad they nearly refused to pay my tuition. Which wasn’t a problem. I saw this coming, so I planned ahead and applied for scholarships before that moment. I wanted to stay in state for school, so it was cheaper. When they heard that, they knew they had no choice, but to get onboard. Don’t get me wrong my parents are loving and supportive. I never felt lonely or left behind, because I was so busy in school that it didn’t matter what they were doing. I had good grades, had a ton of friends, and was popular. Not that I cared. Most of the time, I wasn’t really sure if it was because my family had money, or if it was me they liked. I was actually crowned prom queen at my high school senior year and was dating the captain of the hockey team (I hated the football captain, so that wasn’t’t going to happen). Not to say he didn’t try, though. None of that mattered, though when college started. I stayed close to home and everyone else went on to bigger places. My friends and I lost touch and the day before graduation, my boyfriend told me he thought it was time to see other people . He was going to UCLA and I was staying home to go to UMSL-University Missouri St. Louis. That was my dream. The life he chose was not what I wanted or needed. Now, I’m in my final year of College and things are going well. I have a 3.7 GPA and my parents are delighted. My 23rd birthday is coming up and to celebrate my academic success and my life, apparently, my parents have decided to throw me a ‘surprise’ birthday party. My mom talks loud when she gets excited, so I of course heard all the plans. I hate surprises and this will be no different. But at least I will get to see my family during this party, so I can’t really complain, can I?