I received an invitation to my twentieth :eek: class reunion recently. I’ve not really thought much about my classmates over the years - and while there are some “I wonder what happened to so-and-so” musings, it’s not a big nostalgia trip for me.
There are two complicating factors in my case: I grew up in a relatively conservative area, and am certainly not conservative now (and probably would get told I’m going to burn in Hell for some of my non-conservative leanings :)). In addition, I live far away - it takes most of the day and at least two planes to get back to my high school town.
SO, with all that, would you go? And, is there anyone that has gone and would care to share his/her experience?
The 20th came and went and someone posted pictures on line. So I was spared the hassle of actually going, but seeing how everyone turned out. (Guys lost their hair and got fat. Women got fat or stayed freakishly skinny.)
I went to my 20th. It was kind of fun, but the venues could have been planned better. In the first meet-and-greet, the acoustics were so bad I lost my voice shouting to be heard.
I doubt I’ll go again. I ran into a few old friends, we chatted for a bit, but we didn’t keep in touch before or since, so been there, done that, don’t need to spend $300+ to do it again.
I wouldn’t and haven’t, for several reasons. When I was in HS I was an Air Force brat, as were many others who attended, so there’s really no “good to be home again” feeling for either me or many of my classmates.
Also, similar to the OP, my high school is 2 time zones away from where I live now, and it would be a fairly major inconvenience to make the trip just for a reunion.
However, probably the biggest reason is that, for me, HS was not a pleasant time. I was fairly nerdy at the time, and was not in any of the “in” cliques. Most of the popular kids either totally ignored me, or were downright hostile/condescending. Yes, I did have a few friends that I associated with and had good times with, but not enough to travel 1500 miles for a reunion.
As far as I know or care, the “alumni committee” has lost track of me and I’m as pleased as punch about that.
Absolutely and I have. I’ve gone to the 5 year and just this last fall our 10th. Most people will say, “Meh, I didn’t like anyone back then anyways”. Well, you wouldn’t believe how much people can change. My experience was great. Everyone was just there to have a good time. I spent alot of time with people I wouldn’t of back in the day. An easy 50ish percent became parents and most of the talk was about that. I got alot of networking done as well. I brought a stack of my business cards and just handed them out everytime I spoke with someone. Get out and mingle, that’s what makes it great.
The girl to guy ratio must of been 5:1. I’ve read other stories here supporting the same thing. My buddy and I went by ourselves. Most people came in large groups. After getting a couple drinks (well ok, about 8) we went around trying to guess who everyone was. It’s an easy icebreaker. I’ll go again and there were talks of a 15 year, but we will see. Out of a thousand students, I’ll guess about 300 people showed up. Our 5 year was even less, only about 50-100.
I’ve managed not to for 35 years, and don’t see any reason to break a streak. I know who attends them (by and large it’s always the same people), and I don’t have any interest at all in most of them. With one exception, none of the people who were my friends ever go. If he were to go, and I were within a 50-mile radius of my home town, I’d consider going. The chances of that happening are slim, though.
Nah. It’d be a 2500 mile round trip, and hideously expensive. My experience at school was a total downer. I can’t think of anybody I’d be overjoyed to see, or who would be overjoyed to see me. Besides, no one at the school has known how to get ahold of me in 30 years, and I haven’t kept in touch with anybody I ever went to school with. So I can avoid all that aggravation and expense by staying where I am.
I just went to my 20th last fall, and I won’t be going to any more of them. It was poorly planned- about 150 or 200 people standing around a gymnasium-sized room, no seats, and a band at one end of the room. No food except for snacks. So, you stood and drank, and made meaningless chit-chat with people you didn’t particularly like enough to keep in touch with over the last 20 years (but you had to scream your meaningless chit-chat, because the band was too loud to hear anyone). I’m still friends with a bunch of people from HS, and we see each other once or twice a year, so except for them I’m not really interested in seeing the others.
Twenty years ago I didn’t mind drinking weak drinks while I stood and screamed out conversations with the people around me, but these days, I like my socializing a little more refined. Especially for $75/head. Although there were a couple interesting moments- “a-ha! I always suspected he was gay!” And “damn- she used to be cute but she really hit the wall!” And “Wow- that guy really lost a lot of weight” But after 5 minutes of that, it was a waste of time and money.
I’m not quote six years out of high school, and planning vaguely on going to my 10th. I am curious to see how some of my not-so-close friends have fared, and I’m not that far from home. I figure I can roll it into a long-overdue visit to my parents (not that I don’t plan to see them between now and then, but to hear them tell it, I’m overdue for a visit as soon as they can see my taillights).
Rhiannon8404, is it common for High Schools to have a 5-year? I haven’t heard of that before.
I weighed about 330 at the time - and debated on whether or not to go. I figured I’d regret it if I didn’t, so I went. To a person - everyone recognized me. I weighed about 140 in HS, so I was shocked. It was lovely to see people I had literally grown up with - one of the highlights was a group picture taken with about the 40 of us who had gone to school together from kindergarten to 12th grade.
YMMV - if you loathed HS, your perspective may be different.
I’m only in touch with one person from high school but there are a few others I’d be happy to hear from again. I haven’t been tempted by any HS reunions yet, but I might go to a future one. Maybe if I live closer in 2011, which would be my 20th.
Nope. I loathed high school and was glad to get out. I might have been tempted by a five year reunion. Tempted to take a gun and settle scores, that is. Just kidding
But the twentieth was last year and if I got an invite I tossed it without even a thought. Don’t care.
Nah, probably not. It’s not a far drive or anything, but I just don’t feel the desire to see anyone I graduated with. I wasn’t popular or particulary well-liked - I was a bit of a dork. It would be enjoyable to go back so that everyone could see how cool I’ve become but I’m fine just imagining it in my head.
