This past weekend I went to my ten-year high school reunion.
I wasn't really sure what to expect. I was that kid in high school who always had all the right answers but never knew the right thing to say to people. So going in I was curious about how it would go—would they think I was still that person? Would they be right... would I revert to acting that way?
But the night turned out to be a lot of fun. I talked to most of the people there, and while I tended to have the same conversation each time, I really had a good time learning what everyone else was doing in life.
And one girl completely surprised me! She's a very creative type herself now, and she told me she's been keeping up with what I'm doing on Facebook because she loves to read and really hopes I publish my book. That comment made my night!
The really interesting thing for me, though, was seeing what has changed in ten years and what hasn't. Half of the people look exactly the same as they did in high school. The other half I would have passed on the street and not recognized. Most of the personalities haven't changed much. And yet the way we relate to each other has... at least in the interactions I was part of. Ten years ago I didn't feel very well-liked, and I didn't have a whole lot of regard for most of the people around me, but Saturday night I came away from the reunion thinking, “If we lived closer, I wouldn't mind knowing you better.” And that was a good feeling.
How cool! We just had my 20 year reunion, which I missed do to my epic house move, but I did go to my ten year and it was kind of the same. Lots of rekindled friendships--which didn't last. And that was before Facebook and My Space. Now I see so many old friends on FB it didn't really kill me not to go. My HS never changes tho--it's all about the party. lol
ReplyDeleteI think the more we grow, the more we realize how special a bond we had with those we did grow up with. And the things that mattered in HS when you knew them, don't anymore. It's a surreal kind of feeling.
Yeah, surreal is a good way of putting it. I'm not expecting to keep up good friendships with any of these people, though I'll probably check in on them all from time to time. You're right--the people who knew us as children and teens know a lot about us that other people never see... and that makes a difference.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a really nice night. School reunions don't really seem to be a thing here. Like you, I wasn't really popular in school. I had a hard time of it a lot. I think I would go to one now, though.
ReplyDeleteI think connecting to the past is in general a big thing in American culture. Whether that be collectively through preserving/reenacting/memorializing history, or personally through tracking ancestry, or in this case through reengaging childhood, the idea of keeping ties to the past is appealing to the American mindset. Maybe that's because we tend to be such a mobile culture that we feel the need to remember where we've been.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been to any of my high school reunions. Mostly because of logistics. I hope to one day, though.
ReplyDeleteI missed my ten year. It turns out that one of my better friends from grade school had had a sex change. I knew him as a hefty dark-haired kid and when he showed up he was a thin blonde woman. They decided not to offer a prize for "most changed" at that event.
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