So, it is November already. Oh wait, November is more than half over! How did that happen? Well here we have a (very late) edition of the condition of the month. This month we all thought a bit about that dreaded affair: the high school reunion. Scary as it may be, that event is not so far away on the horizon as most of us would like it to be. Will we go? Will you go? Why or why not? Feel free to post our own reflections in the comments!
Whoa there, ten year high school reunion?! We aren’t quite there yet right?! We still have three years! My roommate is there though because she just got her invite in the mail. Apparently theirs is at a bowling alley and you couldn’t pay her to go. She keeps in touch with about 5 people from high school and has no desire to ever see anyone else ever again. She doesn’t even have many high school Facebook friends. But if you’re making me think about being ten years out of high school I suppose I’d say I would go. I don’t think I’ve changed all that much but I generally liked almost everyone I went to school with and have an overall positive memory of the experience so going to a giant party where I get to reconnect with a few of them doesn’t seem terrible. I keep in touch with a lot of them still anyway so really it could just be me and my friends all getting together for a great night. We’d dance and drink and laugh about old times. Yeah, the more I think about it the better it seems. Maybe ten years out of high school won’t be so bad after all.
— The Sleeping Booty
Ah, high school. I just turned 26 and am feeling more adult than ever—do I really need to be reminded about high school?
But, since you asked, yes, I would go to my 10 year high school reunion (when it happens, if it happens, in 2.5 more years). But, only if it is convenient. If I am still living abroad, there’s no way I’m making special plans just to attend it. But, if I happen to be within driving distance of my hometown at the time it happens, I’d be glad to go. Ideally, some of my high school friends that I am still in contact with would also be going. There’s still a number of them that I don’t see much anymore, but I’d still love to hang out with for an evening, and the reunion would be a great way to make that happen. As for the rest of the 300+ people in my graduating class, I don’t care too much. The other day I saw a picture on Facebook of my American Government class from senior year. There were two guys in the picture whose names I couldn’t even remember! And it’s only been 7 years since graduation! I don’t really relish the awkwardness of some people remembering me when I don’t remember them, and vice versa. What if I experience a resurgence of my high school insecurities? Why isn’t anyone talking to me? All the popular kids are at that table but there’s no more room… I had a good time in high school and I was never bullied or anything like that, but there were some people I just never clicked with, and I’m not sure I would 10 years later, either.
Part of the appeal of a reunion, I think, is to size up your former classmates; you know, see who got fat, who married beneath them, who made money, who didn’t. And that part sounds kind of trashy and lame—after all, we have Facebook, so we can judge our former friends from the comfort and anonymity of our own homes, right? It doesn’t sound that great to me to sit around sipping over-priced beverages and making chit-chat about what we “do.” But, then again, for one night every ten years, I can probably handle it.
More positively, my in-laws recently attended their 40th high school reunion, and they had a great time. And, technically, my parents “met” at their own 10 year reunion. So, without reunions I wouldn’t even be here. I guess that makes me a fan.
– Cinderslut
I used to be excited for my high school reuion. Back when I was just a year or two out of high school it sounded so fun. I had a pretty good high school experience so the idea of meeting up with people from my class again sounded fun and I thought it would be very excited to see what everyone became when they ‘grew up’. However, as time passes, the whole thing sounds a bit last fun. In the past couple of years I have had several run-ins with people from high school and really, in general, they were kind of awkward. After finishing high school, I moved to the big city for college and after that I moved even further, to England, to complete my graduate degrees. By the time I go to my high school reunion I will (God willing) have my PhD— from Oxford no less. I have no issue at all with people making different choices than I have, staying in my home town, starting a family… those can be wonderful and rewarding things. The academic path is not for everyone. However, when I meet up with people still living in our home town and they ask me what I do, I feel uncomfortable: like I am showing off. And it always feels awkward. I somehow have the feeling that my high school renuion will just be that conversation over and over.
Will I go to my 10 year high school reunion? It’s hard to say. Merskank and I went to the same high school and I feel that every time we go home its like a high school reunion because so many people from high school never left our hometown. When I go to visit my parents, I literally cannot escape running into people from high school whether I want to or not. And I feel like Facebook has changed things too. I wonder if there is anything I would learn at a 10 year reunion that I couldn’t learn from just looking on Facebook.