To the Towanda Class of '79

Posted on October 8, 2025

** Trigger Warning: Bullying **

It is hard to believe it is the 46th anniversary of the graduation of my class at Towanda Area Jr/Sr High School in PA. My graduating class had over 200 classmates, which was the largest ever class to graduate from this high school in Bradford County. Since elementary and high school, I expected to have some detractors or bullies, but I never knew what I would be facing each and every day during those 12 years. It is something I dreaded. Yes, I had some good times during those 12 years with class trips and the drama club I joined. I appeared in two plays, but that did not end the bullying. Once I graduated, I was so glad that finally the bullying would end.

I had a few friends throughout school and worked in several jobs after high school ended. I worked in a factory and then at the Ames department store for over seven years until it closed. Life eventually threw me a few curveballs when both of my parents passed away from cancer, and I had to move in with my sister, which was not easy either. I later worked as a volunteer at a railroad museum in Maryland, a toy warehouse, and the Smithsonian Institute, where I was unfortunately let go. My life changed when I was diagnosed as having a learning disability. I attended college at Misericordia with their Alternative Learners Program, where I was able to get my Business Administration Degree. Many years have passed, and I have not been back to my former hometown in over 10 years. I missed my last two class reunions due to being busy. In the past 46 years, about a dozen of my classmates have passed away, a few of whom I knew personally.

Ever since I started accepting my friend and former high school classmate, Chris’s, invitation to breakfast, I have been able to reconnect with a few people. During one of those breakfasts, another former high school classmate, Andy, and my friend, John from elementary school, joined us. I have found that they still think of me not so much as my autism persona but as plain old Tom from York Ave, which I really appreciate. I feel like I can just be myself around them. I never felt that way back in the day. I never felt like I fit in during elementary or high school. Even today, I still feel like my personal life is in shambles, and I am not sure if I can ever repair the damage I caused my siblings. If I had known back then that I had a learning disability and autism, maybe my life would be different now. Regardless, I am still proud of my autistic side. I love what I do in helping others in their autism journey, as I blaze my own trail and continue my own autism journey.

I am trying to tie all that I have written here in a nice bow, but I am having a difficult time. I have been alone for most of my life, even at family events, I still felt like I was looking in from the outside. I find that looking back on my life does me no good. My past still haunts me to this day because of all the mistakes I made in my life and relationships. I am still single. I have never dated nor ever had a special person in my life. I am trying to be as successful as I can while working in the autism field, because it is the only thing I know and am good at, but at what cost? I honestly do not know where I would be without my work, either in jail or dead, maybe. I am just thankful that a few friends have thought of me to join a breakfast club to get together as friends and former classmates. So, here’s to the class of ’79, live long and prosper!