Apparently, there are a lot of we '87ers out there. Boy in the Bands and Boobless Brigade Master, to name two. And moi. Someone else ... Nancy?
My class reunion is this Saturday. Tickets are bought, grandma is coming up to watch kids; I am going.
Is there anyone who isn't either negative or ambivalent about going to their 20th high school reunion?
As an adult, 4 years is just a blip. It might as well be four weeks. But those four years of school seem to mark us as little else does. Has anyone written a book about this? Seems like it would be ripe for psychological dissection.
I have a friend who is a therapist and she claims that all our problems stem from our family of origin. I dunno. I think high school marked a whole lot of us.
We lived in an area where few moved in or out. For grades 5-8, we lived in another place because of my father's job. But his job changed, and we went back to the house I had known since birth. So some of these people I have known since kindergarten.
On the outside, I was Miss Involved: editor of the paper, frequent lead actress in the school plays, a speech nerd, all that. Dressed crazy, acted fairly bubbly. Inside, I was the kid dressed all in black, sitting in the back of class, counting the days til I could leave and never look back.
I felt like the only liberal in a school of Reagan-worshipping Republicans, and I know I was the only UU in a school that predominately went to the community Southern Baptist church.
I am going to my reunion out of curiosity. How did people change? Is there anyone I can relate to, now? I will wear my medallion with all the different religious symbols surrounding a chalice. It is a limited amount of time to reconnect with these people ... I don't hold much hope of finding another UU, but I figure if someone has ventured outside the religion they grew up with, my necklace can start that conversation ...
(Of course, it can also begin the "Can I give you my testimonial?" conversations.)
At the very least, I'm sure the reunion will give me some stories to tell.
BFF!
ReplyDeleteI'm a year later and I'm not going to my reunion next year. Because my tenth was a miserable experience (maybe because I was pregnant and just barely past the worst of pertussis), making me realize that I did not care a whit about any of the people there. Wasn't curious about their lives or anything.
ReplyDeleteFWIW, I haven't been to any college reunions, either.
HATED high school. So much that it's not really worth sharing the stories.
Oh, now I feel really old: class of 1980! Haven't been to one. Thought of going to my 20th, but just couldn't manage to fly cross country (not working, small children, horribly fat, all that). Wish I had. Even though there weren't a lot of people I knew or cared to see (graduating class of 800, hard to know everyone), a few people I knew attended and I actually heard from one friend months later. She told me that one guy I'd crushed on for years had been there--one of the few guys I really would have liked to have had a conversation and a drink with--and learned later that he took his own life not long after the reunion (I do not tell this as a cautionary tale, nor do I know if one led to the other...). This knowledge has tugged on me for all these years and for the stupid reason that I think if he had met up with someone like me who just adored him for being who he is/was it might have made the difference. I know, delusions of grandeur on my part, for sure.
ReplyDeleteAh...as usual, too much. Should just go post something on my own blog, but THAT's too much work.
Have fun!
I'm in the class of 1988, so I'm up next year. The ten-year reunion was a hoot. Everybody looked TERRIBLE. I can't imagine how they look now. I swear they all decomposed further as I talked to them.
ReplyDeleteHigh school was good for me, but besides creative writing and English classes, I can't remember much. I was a band geek. My experience was genuine -- most of my friends from high school are still by my side and as true-blue as ever. We went to a very rich, snotty high school, and I was neither rich nor snotty, so it was hard sometimes.
Have FUNNNN. If it gets boring, make up shocking stories and tell them. Don't forget to watch the Romy and Michele movie before you go to get you in the mood. Or maybe Sixteen Candles.
I'm actually not until the 2010 for a 20 year reunion, but there has been a flurry of high school-related activity recently. Several emails from people from high school that I hadn't heard from in 15 years, lots of photo sharing, and recently I found out that several folks from high school read my blog (with anonymous browsers so I didn't know they were reading from my home town).
ReplyDeleteYou're very brave. Very very brave.
Another class of 1987. Someone is planning a reunion but I haven't heard anything further. Part of me wants to go out of morbid curiousity but then I can think of other things I want to do and can't think anyone I particularly want to see.
ReplyDeleteOoh, have fun at your reunion!
ReplyDeleteI had my 20 year reunion two years ago (class of 1985). I am one of those dorky people who love going to the reunions. Your description of your school sounds very much like where I went to school. But I really liked it at the time. I was a band nerd (drum major, in fact) and I have a bunch of fellow band nerd buddies that I love to get back together with.
My 20 yr reunion was also very therapeutic for me. I was able to really let go of some resentment towards some people that had bogged me down for 20 years. I buried some hatchets and erased some clique borders. I blogged about it at:
http://momtotheleft.blogspot.com/2005/10/high-school-reunions.html
Have fun!
Oh yes!
ReplyDeleteI can count the people I want to see at my reunion on one hand...and still have two fingers left over!
Have fun!