I plan to go to my 25th ( :eek: ) this year, if it occurs. I just got an email this past week from one guy I knew slightly, and he connected me to someone else who was my best friend in HS. There are two other people I knew fairly well in HS who I’d like to see.
Other than that, who knows? My 10th was pleasant enough, if a bit startling when I’d seen what happened to some people, and somewhat awkward when all the couples started to dance and I was single. At least this time I’ll have learned some of the social skills I knew nothing of then.
:: ponders that it’s as good a time as any to return to the gym ::
Nope. I graduated in 1978 and have not been to any thus far, and don’t intend to break my record.
I had only 1 real friend in high school, and she back stabbed me terribly once we graduated; everyone else in my class made my life a living hell, and I have no desire to see them.
I went to a coed boarding school in suburban Pittsburgh. Very preppy, a bit elitist, but with a great faculty.
My first two years there were rocky - I was often lonely, struggled with Spanish class, had the usual adolescent issues, etc. My last two years were much better. I formed some very close friendships, discovered that I had a knack for government and history courses, and the drama club. I took part in a student-made movie, a spoof of campus life, which was a blast. Since graduating, I’ve kept in regular touch with five of my classmates, good guys all, who are scattered along the East Coast from Connecticut to Florida.
I went to my 5th class reunion, which was too soon. Most of us were still pretty much who we were in HS, for good and ill, and I came away inexplicably depressed. Not long ago, I went to my 20th with one of my aforementioned five buddies, and had a lot of fun. It was interesting to see where people have gone in their family and career choices. Even those who’d been jerks to me in HS were more mature and polite. I liked shop-talking with fellow legal eagles, and perhaps best of all, the girls on whom I’d had a crush at one time or another had all aged well, and were very friendly.
So I’ll probably go to my 30th, schedule permitting.
I generally do (missed the last one because of a schduling conflict). It was fun seeing my old classmates and, frankly, I didn’t care about comparing who was doing what (though it was fun to find out). I had a lot of friends (it was a small school and a lot of us had been together since kindergarten), and it was a lot of fun to catch up.
I actually had a great time in high school – I did well in class and never had any serious problems socially. We were somewhat different, in that many of the top jocks were also top students, so there was never a rivalry (and the coaches would never have allowed one – I once was chewed out by a coach because I said something bad about another student’s performance on the field).
I was quite amused a few years ago when someone was talking about their high school cheerleaders and how snotty they were to the smart girl – I realized that, in my senior year, the cheerleading squad had the class valedictorian, the class saluditorian, the girl who would be class valedictorian the next year, plus a couple of other National Honor Society members.
I suppose that sort of thing was unusual even back in my day, but I never experienced the types of high school cliques that most others seem to complain about.
Our tenth is coming up soon and I’m not planning on going. I’m still in touch with everyone I was friends with, and I can’t warm to the idea of spending an evening with people that I wouldn’t cross the road to say hi to. It’s not that I hate them, it’s just that I don’t care about them. As I still live in the town I sometimes see the people who would be likely to go anyway.
On the other hand, a classmate is planning on going because she wants everyone to see that she is still with her boyfriend (now husband) after 12 years to “rub it in their faces”. I don’t know what’s sadder:
That her only life achievement is still being with the same guy she dated in high school
That she wants to rub other people’s faces in the fact - like they will even care
That she told me about this just ten minutes after finishing her teary recap on how she’s thinking of leaving him because he’s a greedy, selfish bastard who hoardes all his money for himself and begrudes every cent he has to spend on feeding and clothing his own children. This marriage is doomed, the only reason she sticks with him is because she’s afraid of being alone and doesn’t think anyone else would want her.
I explained my reasons for not going, but she’s too caught up in the daydream of entering on her husband’s arm and a hush falling across the room as the nasty girls who teased her see that their relationship lasted after all, and turn green with jealousy… Not that she said it in so many words, but you can tell that’s the way her thoughts are travelling. Instead, she’s going to walk up and say “Hello. I remember you. This is my husband, you’d probably remember him from when we were dating in year 10” and they will say “So?” and resume their conversation about the year they spent in Kuala Lumpar before they went travelling across Europe, leaving her feeling snubbed and inadequate. Call me a pessimist, but I don’t think that a decade is long enough to leech the cruel out of the girls who used to pick on her and I think they will look down on her for her lifestyle.
Our high school didn’t have a fifth, but I went to the opening of a new theater building on campus and all the old theater kids were invited back. That was fun mainly because it was people I had chosen to be friends with, not the entire school, but also quite uncomfortable.
I was three years out of school, fully entrenched in college life (when all you can talk about it “what’s your major”) and having a pretty good time when the one graduate who didn’t go on to college came over and joined our group. We just looked around sheepishly not quite knowing what to talk about.
My 10th is this year, and I will not be attending, despite a lot of people bugging me to go. I had a handful of friends, and I’m still in touch with most of them – my best friend since 10th grade is my current roommate/landlord! But I couldn’t care less about catching up with anyone else, and I hated high school anyway.
Now if only they’d stop trying to get me to join the Myspace Alumni Group…
The general concensus in these reunion threads has been that if you enjoyed high school, you’ll have a good time. If high school was hell, you probably don’t want to wallow in the memory of the pain, and sometimes, if it was hell and you go, you will find that kids grow up to be pretty good people for the most part. Many will feel bad that they didn’t treat you well and many will be genuinely nice people.
I liked high school, still see some of those friends, and had a blast at the 30th. I can’t wait for the 35th to roll around.
My 30th is sometime this month or next. I never even considered going. While I had a good time in HS, I never hung out with anyone there… my friends were older and already out of school. There’s no one there that I really would like to see.
I certainly enjoyed both my 5 and 10 year reunion. At 5 years it’s fun to see people after they finish college or whatever. 10 years, people are starting families or are further along in their careers. I don’t know if I would go out of my way to go to my 20th. I’m not sure how exciting it would be to listen to a bunch of middle age people talk about their kids and boring insurance job or whatever.
It’s kind of like - that’s great and all, but what do I care about someone I haven’t seen in 15-20 years?
Along those lines, if you plan on going to “show everyone up” you are bound to be disappointed. In fact, at my 10 year, I would try to downplay the fact that I had just finished business school, taken a job with a Big-4 consulting firm and moved to Manhattan. Mostly I was just there to drink and do the bootie-smack dance with ex-cheerleaders.
I’m not sure that I’d want to go to my 10th. However, I maybe would be ok to go to the 20th since a lot of time had passed. I still have some major aversions to some people and I wouldn’t be keen on seeing them at the 10th. Maybe I could cope with them at the 20th!
My brother had his 10th year reunion in 1993 and he seemed to enjoy it. Only half the people responded to the invite and about 70% of those actually attended. It brought him back into contact with one of his dear friends from primary school so it worked out quite well for him.
How is this possible, Cazzle? My 10th year is due this year (I was in Yr 12 in '96) and you would have been ahead of me at school…
I might go to the next one, just out of curiosity. They somehow tracked me down here in Japan to send me an invitation to the 10 year one. I don’t think it would be that much of a good time, but it might be worth it.
I was a socially late bloomer, so I might even get to gloat a bit now that I’m outgoing and pretty comfortable with just about any social situation. I’m also still in decent shape, I’ve had some interesting life experiences, and have all my hair. On the other hand, I don’t have a six-digit income, so maybe I won’t be gloating much.
No interest here.
Graduated HS in 78.
Went to HS in Chicago (Lane Tech), still work downtown and live in a suburb.
Out of a class of 1100, I keep in touch with exactly 1 guy who lives in OH.
Nothing against my classmates or me, but a lot of time has passed since then, and we are (thankfully) different people than we were.
I’m often surprised at how few clear memories I have of high school.
It wasn’t horrible or anything, but just not all that relevant to what went on over the following 27 years.
Hell, I look at my yearbooks, and outside my closest group of friends I don’t remember the majority of folks who signed them.
It is odd having 3 kids in HS - so many things are so important to them right now.
Wierd to think of how likely it is that they will quickly fade in significance…
I wish they made the reunions more casual and less expensive.
Maybe a potluck picnic at a forest preserve where you could show up and leave unobtrusively, instead of spending a couple hundred $ at a banquet hall.
Have gone to my wife’s 10th and 25th.
Walking into the 25th, I swear to god my first thought was "What are all these OLD people doing here?"
Must not have looked in a mirror lately!
