William Friday:  

Life Back in Bolsa Grande High School, I met my lifelong companion Carla Joann Chapin (Cara). We got married the year she graduated from Bolsa and we are preparing to celebrate our 40th anniversary in August of 2015 with our seven kids and 11 grandchildren. We've had our ups and downs but overall it has been a great life. We've had plenty of challenges including traveling with the US Navy and putting each other through school. Our seven children make us proud and make our lives interesting. They are starting to have children of their own now and that is a real joy. We've accomplished a lot and look forward to many more years together. I've been working as a graphic designer and internet technology developer while Cara is a nurse. I went back to school and graduated in 2006 with a Master's Degree in information systems management form the University of Phoenix. School High School years provided the most horrendous and beautiful emotional roller coaster ride ever. It was a time when things were still new but we knew it all. We hadn't been ruined by too much exposure to reality. I miss the friends I left behind, like Jon Westra, Laurie Sondag, Tony Cota, and so many more I can't name them all. If I could go back to those days I would jump at the chance but then I know I'd probably regret it. There were so many things left unsaid and undone that can't be changed. I know I hurt people and I wish I could say I'm sorry. While I don't think High School prepared me for much, it gave me something to remember when things were going bad in life. I hope I gave my classmates memories that they don't want to bury. If you feel like writing and reminiscing, I'd be happy to hear from any of the old crowd. College I knew someday I'd finish college but I didn't think it would take quite as long as it did. When I retired from the Navy I returned to school, starting classes after I turned 40 years old. Now have an Associates Degree in Computer Animation and a Bachelors Degree in Information Technology and a Masters Degree in Information Systems Management. I planned to get a PhD before my son graduated from medical school but never did that. I lost the contest to see who would be a doctor first. Now I manage the IT department for his company, Redemption Psychiatry in Arizona. I used up my GI Bill money and will probably spend the rest of my life paying off student loans but I thought if I kept going to school I could always defer that and maybe never have to pay for it. But it catches up to you. At least now I make enough to pay it and still live in relative comfort. The Navy pension doesn't hurt either. I've met a lot of very interesting people along the way and I have many fantastic memories. There have been myriad challenges but I guess I'm addicted to learning so it's all worth it. I find myself wishing I'd had the wherewithall to go to college when I was young but then I think that maybe it's all the more precious to me now. One of the best things about going to school as a parent and grandparent is that I can lead the kids by example. If their pop can do it, so can they. I'm the first college graduate in my family but I hope that I've established a tradition that will be continued by my children and theirs forever. Workplace Currently I'm working at my son Jason's company as the Director of IT. Jason is a doctor. After medical school he chose to specialize in psychiatry. He started a company called Redemption Psychiatry in June of 2013 with a partner MD and two Therapists in a small office. Less than two years later we are preparing to open our third location with over 50 employees and I will soon be promoted to a corporate officer position, probably CIO or CTO. During the Christmas season I now play Santa for parties and other occasions as well as in malls. I keep ...Expand for more