I thought it was over
Aw that’s just great
So it happened. My 10 year high school reunion. I dreaded it for months. I'm not where I thought I would be after ten years (who is?). I don't talk to those people anymore. I'm not friends with any of my high school clique. I said I wasn't going. Then I got a Facebook invite, I started running into people in town from my class who asked me if I was coming, then I got the paper invite, then it was time to RSVP. Lo and behold, the reunion venue happens to be one block from my house, so it's not like it was inconvenient. And I realized that even though I'm not close with my old high school friends, I do talk to some of the people from my class, at least on Facebook. And my life might not be what I imagined (again, whose is?), it isn't bad. I have a college education. I have a career I love. I have a small, but nice apartment. I have fun and travel. So I RSVP'd that I would be there. I thought, if I don't like it, I'll just leave after a short while. Who cares what those people think of me anyway?
Here's the thing though, I'm so glad I went. It ended up being a ton of fun. I got nervous about it the day of, so I googled other people's experiences. Some said the 10 year reunion is just like being back in high school and people only talk to their old close friends, some said wait for the 20th reunion, some said go without expectations. So I went without expectations; I treated it just like some random party I was invited to where I hoped to have fun, but if I didn't, no big loss. It's one night and life goes on. I had so much fun! First, way less people attended than I thought. Just guessing, there were maybe 40 or 50 of my old classmates there. About half or a little more of them brought a spouse or date. I started high school with around 200 in my class and graduated with 160 something. Only one person who I was close friends with in high school showed up, and I didn't have to worry about the 2 or 3 that I was definitely not friends with anymore because they weren't there. I talked to the people I was friends with in high school. There was food and drinks. After awhile everyone relaxed (a few were somewhat inebriated and therefore very easygoing), and everyone mingled with everyone. We talked about the past a little, talked about the present a lot (the go to question was, so what do you do now?), and it was interesting to know where everyone ended up in the professional world (and also surprising how many still live in my hometown, which I do too by choice, I did not know so many others were here too). Some things I already knew from Facebook, which is a great tool for staying in contact, but there's nothing like a face to face reunion. We took fun photos in the photo booth (first time using a selfie stick! Said I wouldn't, but...). Later on,music was turned up and we all danced. Some of the boys set up beer pong (haven't we outgrown that by now?) I ended up staying until midnight. I left feeling good about the night and so glad I decided to go. Really, I wish we could make it an annual event! It was that much fun. So if you have a reunion coming up and are deciding whether or not to go, do it. Have no regrets. If you're going solo, do what I did and contact an old classmate beforehand that's also going alone. That way you have at least one person to talk to in the beginning before the awkwardness wears off. And stay more than thirty minutes or an hour, it takes some time for everyone to relax around people that haven't been together in 10 years. There's something special and comforting about being around your high school class. I belong there with them, and that's something that's hard to find in this world.
Here's the thing though, I'm so glad I went. It ended up being a ton of fun. I got nervous about it the day of, so I googled other people's experiences. Some said the 10 year reunion is just like being back in high school and people only talk to their old close friends, some said wait for the 20th reunion, some said go without expectations. So I went without expectations; I treated it just like some random party I was invited to where I hoped to have fun, but if I didn't, no big loss. It's one night and life goes on. I had so much fun! First, way less people attended than I thought. Just guessing, there were maybe 40 or 50 of my old classmates there. About half or a little more of them brought a spouse or date. I started high school with around 200 in my class and graduated with 160 something. Only one person who I was close friends with in high school showed up, and I didn't have to worry about the 2 or 3 that I was definitely not friends with anymore because they weren't there. I talked to the people I was friends with in high school. There was food and drinks. After awhile everyone relaxed (a few were somewhat inebriated and therefore very easygoing), and everyone mingled with everyone. We talked about the past a little, talked about the present a lot (the go to question was, so what do you do now?), and it was interesting to know where everyone ended up in the professional world (and also surprising how many still live in my hometown, which I do too by choice, I did not know so many others were here too). Some things I already knew from Facebook, which is a great tool for staying in contact, but there's nothing like a face to face reunion. We took fun photos in the photo booth (first time using a selfie stick! Said I wouldn't, but...). Later on,music was turned up and we all danced. Some of the boys set up beer pong (haven't we outgrown that by now?) I ended up staying until midnight. I left feeling good about the night and so glad I decided to go. Really, I wish we could make it an annual event! It was that much fun. So if you have a reunion coming up and are deciding whether or not to go, do it. Have no regrets. If you're going solo, do what I did and contact an old classmate beforehand that's also going alone. That way you have at least one person to talk to in the beginning before the awkwardness wears off. And stay more than thirty minutes or an hour, it takes some time for everyone to relax around people that haven't been together in 10 years. There's something special and comforting about being around your high school class. I belong there with them, and that's something that's hard to find in this world.