Do I Have to Go to My Dreaded High School Reunion
I Skipped My 10-Year Reunion, But Am So Happy I Attended My 20-Year
The following is a mash-up of blog posts created 10 years apart. I thought it’d be a fun juxtaposition given how much my views changed about essentially the same event.
Especially interesting are the grudges I seemed to carry 10 years after graduation. I’ve refrained from making too many edits in an effort to preserve the “emotion” of the original post about my 10 year reunion.
Thankfully I have moved on and am in a better head space than I was back then.…
Original Thoughts on the 10-Year
My 10-year high school reunion almost didn’t happen. The year before us didn’t have one, and no one from my class had heard anything until just before the event.
With the wonders of technology, (i.e. Facebook), our reunion rep, who I think was our class president, was able to reach nearly half of our graduating class.
I can’t say that I was excited about this. I kept in good contact with a lot of my friends from high school. In fact, I am still very close with most of them. I know this is rare and I feel lucky. Truth is, I’ve got a great group of friends.
Consequently, there wasn’t anyone I was absolutely dying to see. However, there were a few individuals I hoped to hear about.
I had a teeny bit of hope to see ‘failure’ in some of the people who made my life difficult in high school. Was that wrong? I think it’s natural.
I was not a super popular kid, nor was I a loner, but I wondered if life since high school had treated me better than them. Anyone seen the movie, Failure to Launch?
It’s those kind of thoughts that run through my head. If even half of my personal revenge scenarios come true, I will feel plenty victorious and vindicated that hard work does pay off.
So, What Happened?
I ended up skipping that event. I had plenty of surrogates who reported a good sized crowd, and some funny stories, but ultimately it was a glorified Saturday night.
I was indifferent about attending, and not the least bit regretful I skipped it.
And Then the 20-Year…
The lead up to the 20-year was much more robust. Communication abounded, there was a huge level of engagement in the planning and pre-party conversation, and the program was well-thought-out.
Excitement steadily grew, fueled by our eagerness to reconnect and perhaps a little by the fact that, once again, the prior year’s class had not had a formal reunion. A healthy bit of competition never hurts.
I was genuinely interested this time around. So were many others. Merchandise was being created, special meet-ups for pre- and post-event, photo opportunities, tons of food, the works.
I was happy to be bring my wife, to see faces I hadn’t seen in two decades, and to hear all the amazing stories of adventure, dedication, and even celebrity. To hear about life’s happiness as well as life’s trials, tribulations, and sorrows.
The night certainly lived up to the hype, but was a whirlwind of “how are you, what have you been up to?” and it was exhausting to reach the end. I connected with many people I hadn’t really met in high school and I rekindled some old friendships, nearly stepping back in stride from the good old days.
I left with a full heart and felt immense pride. Proud of myself for being open to the possibilities of the night. And proud of my classmates for pulling together, showing up in tremendous numbers, and exhibiting a level of genuine interest and care for everyone.
This was an event I would have certainly regretted not attending. While the party itself was definitely a blast, I think the bigger influences were our maturity, collective genuineness, and the fact that time has power to heal wounds.
So, if you’re debating whether you should attend your 20 year high school reunion, I suggest you give attending it some careful consideration. It may turn out to be a night to remember.
