High School Reunions

[Gravity Defier]

For those of you who are old enough to even consider: would you go to or have you gone to a high school reunion?

It's still a few years until my ten year but my school already has a myspace page for people to reconnect before the actual reunion and most of my friends are really excited about the page and the reunion. One friend is like me and has not only not joined the myspace page, we're both serious about not wanting to go. If either of us do, it'll be because the others have pressured us into it.

[KennEnder]

over 20 years... and haven't gone to even one!

[neo-dragon]

I still keep in touch, and occasionally hang out with most of my close friends from high school. There's not really a need for me to go to a reunion when I see most of them a few times a year.

[Oliver Dale]

I'd definitely go, but I haven't heard a single peep. I have a couple years to go until 10, though.

[v-girl]

I will probably never go to a reunion. Yuck. I didn't keep in touch with anyone and I'm happy to keep it that way. Besides, most of my friends in high school were either a year younger or a year older than me.

[Young Val]

The suburb I grew up in is so enthusiastic we actually had a 5 year reunion for my class back in 2005, which I did attend--much against my will.

It was not nearly as bad as I anticipated, but I think it depends a lot on the mentality of your class. For example: my 5 year reunion took place in the back room of a pub in Boston, which we all rented out. There were darts and a pool table. We all wore jeans and drank pitchers. We sat around on barstool and reminisced about who cheated off who in junior English or whether or not so and so are still dating. Everyone was fresh out of college and still fumbling around the mechanics of adulthood. The girls all looked a millions times better (even the ones who were gorgeous to begin with) and the guys INVARIABLY looked worse. It was good natured, and amusing and I actually enjoyed myself quite a bit.

My best friends from high school (with whom I am still exceedingly close) are predominantly from the classes both directly above and below me, with only one or two of my very good friend being in my own graduating class so I actually didn't keep in touch with most of the kids in my class. It was nice to hang out with them again in a laid-back venue for one evening.


The year below me, however, had a completely different mentality. And when they had THEIR 5 year reunion they rented out a banquet hall and everyone dressed to the nines and danced and drunkenly hooked up with one another in the coat closet (absolutely 100% true).


I'll go to my next one, sure. I think it will be more interesting since people will actually have done something different by then. The last time I saw a lot of those people was at graduation, and there everyone is like: "I'm about to go to this college!" And five years later, all that's really changed is that now people are saying: "I just recently graduated from this college!"


Yeah. I rambled a lot up there, didn't I?


Anyway. I say go for it. A lot of the old pretenses fall away since you're not locked up with these people five days a week for 12 straight years anymore. It's a lot more comfortable and enjoyable than I thought it would be. I had a good time. So, hell, give it a shot.

[Luet]

My ten year was in 2004 and I thought about going but it seemed lame. It was at a rented banquet place and fancy and stuff. And there is really no one that I wanted to see. So, yeah, I guess it's all just a matter of if you WANT to. Some people are into it and some aren't.

[Ela]

I am not in touch with anyone I was friends with in high school.

I went to one high school reunion - the only one I ever heard about. Most of the people I was friends with in high school were not there. There was one person I was friends with and I spent most of the time hanging out with her and her husband. There were a couple of other people who I was somewhat friendly with and we did chat. I had an amusing time sharing stories with a woman who I had known from cheerleader tryouts (neither of us had made the squad). The people I hadn't gotten along with in high school I mostly still didn't get along with. Although one guy that I had only known marginally in high school asked me to dance and we had a good time.

One former high school overachiever, now a high-powered lawyer, blew me off the moment I mentioned that I was a stay-at-home mom (which I was, at the time) - and frankly, I felt the same way about her.

I found out that one woman who had graduated from high school with me is now married to the owner of the garage where we have been getting our car repaired for years and years. One Friday afternoon, after the reunion, my husband went to pay for a car repair. He was in our second car. Mrs. Garage Owner followed him home in one of our cars while he drove the other, so we wouldn't have to make a separate trip to pick up the car. I told him I went to high school with her and offered to show him her picture in my yearbook. He said, "She won't look the same." I said, "She looks exactly the same, just a little heavier." After he saw the picture, he had to agree.

That's my high school reunion experience.

Apparently there had been other reunions of my high school class before the one I went to, but I never heard about them. After the one I went to, there was a cruise reunion for several graduating classes including mine, but I couldn't afford it. Since then I have heard nothing about any high school reunions for my class, despite scanning the neighborhood section of my paper where these things are commonly listed. (One wonders why I keep looking for them, considering my experience the last time. )

[zeroguy]

I didn't realize that reunions could be so fancy. I still have awhile before any of mine come up, but if it's anything fancy, I probably wouldn't go. Otherwise... maybe. I still keep in touch with some people (we'll see how long that lasts...), so it could be fun.

[powerfulcheese04]

I hang out with my high school friends about once a week when I'm home. I have no desire to see any of the other people I went to high school with.

If we have a 5 year, I won't go. If we have a 10 year, I probably won't go. I'm just not interested. I didn't like high school and see no reason to go hang out with a bunch of people I didn't like then and probably won't like now.

[Rei]

I really don't foresee going to a high school reunion. I have little interest in most everybody I went to school with, and I am still in contact with those few exceptions. Really, the people who track me down on Facebook are more of a high school reunion than I ever particularly wanted.

[Eaquae Legit]

There are three people I care about from high school. One is my best friend, one is a friend I wish I knew better but can talk to anytime, in theory, and one refuses to talk to me. A high school reunion doesn't appeal.

High school wasn't particularly fun.

[zeroguy]

High school wasn't particularly fun.

This seems like a common thread. Did everyone here hate high school or something? While I am a firm believer of the "life gets better after high school" saying, high school was still pretty fun. Is it common for most people to hate the experience?

[charles]

My school was fairly small, so I'm not so sure it will make for a good reunion. I keep contact with the people I want to anyway.

[Eddie Pinz]

Did everyone here hate high school or something?

I certainly didn't hate high school, but it wasn't a great time either. My best friend went to high school with me but I already knew him from before that. I met my college roommate in high school, we became really close in college, but he has changed and I don't talk to him as often anymore. Other than that, I really don't have any friends from high school. Maybe I talk to some online every once in a while or bump into someone when out at the bar, which is fun to do, but that is about it.

As for a reunion, I think I would probably go depending on where it is. Because like I said, it is fun when I bump into my old friends from high school.

[Luet]

I didn't hate high school but the part I enjoyed was the learning and classes and stuff. I did NOT enjoy the social crap. Most of the close friends I had were from outside of school. so the few people in school that I was friendly with were just for during school hours and it didn't extend much beyond that. I was quite happy to be done with high school.

[Eaquae Legit]

Exactly, Luet.

[Young Val]

High school wasn't particularly fun.

This seems like a common thread. Did everyone here hate high school or something? While I am a firm believer of the "life gets better after high school" saying, high school was still pretty fun. Is it common for most people to hate the experience?

Actually, I thought high school was pretty fun, too. My social life in high school was great. I wasn't super popular, but I was well-liked; I had good friends, two steady relationships (over the course of four years--not at the same time!), good grades, and was the president of every extracurricular activity ever.

My home life is what completely crashed and burned in high school. Anytime I wasn't in school--I had to be at home. And that was NOT where I wanted to be. Which may be why I became so social during those years.

Middle school, on the other hand... ::::shivers::::

Social HELL. There is no one meaner in the world than pre-teen girls. No one. I HATED middle school.

[VelvetElvis]

I enjoyed highschool, and it makes me sort of sad that people didnt like it.

[v-girl]

Middle school, on the other hand... ::::shivers::::

Agreed.

I didn't hate high school either, but I found that soon after high school all my relationships from there dissolved. I didn't like my life much in high school, but it wasn't because of the people there. I'm just not keen on the idea of hanging out with a bunch of people I don't know and don't really plan on making life-long friendships with.

[KennEnder]

Middle school was probably my favorite of all! HS was okay, but I was "new" the first year (we moved half way across the country), and I went to Sweden in the third year, so...

[neo-dragon]

I enjoyed highschool, and it makes me sort of sad that people didnt like it.

Me too. Honestly, best years of my life so far. My high school friendships are still the strongest ones I have.

[powerfulcheese04]

It isn't that I didn't enjoy high school... I mean, I didn't love it, but I didn't really hate it, either...

I just have no desire to see most of the people there ever again. And the ones I want to see, I still do see. (Every thursday night that I'm at home...)


Middle school was horrible, however.

[Claire]

I was happy enough in high school, but after I got to college I realized how superficial all of my high school relationships were. I still hang out with my best friend from high school when we're both home and when neither of us are busy which isn't that often, and there are a few I see every now and then, but I don't make much of an effort.

[zeroguy]

I didn't hate high school but the part I enjoyed was the learning and classes and stuff. I did NOT enjoy the social crap. Most of the close friends I had were from outside of school. so the few people in school that I was friendly with were just for during school hours and it didn't extend much beyond that. I was quite happy to be done with high school.

Hmm, I've never really enjoyed classes (anything else is still a rather odd idea to me), so perhaps my friendships formed in those years were just a result of common suffering. People I knew seemed pretty much the same way.... Heh, maybe you like high school.... if you hate high school?

Apologies for derailment!

[Olhado_]

I plan to go to my 10 year reunion, in a few years, and I am even debating about going to an informally reunion, next weekend, which was organized through Facebook.

For me High School was one of my worst times; but I have also done a lot of growing since then, so I look forward to showing people that and seeing how much they have grown as well.

[Luet]

I too agree that middle school was far more hellish than HS. Maybe this is more true for girls than guys, due to the reasons Kelly said.

[Slim]

I had a lot of fun at my 5-year High School Reunion. I'll probably go every time that we have one. I knew nearly half the people there. It was kind of depressing that I was still single, and a lot of my High School friends were married.

I liked High School. It was the first time that people liked me, and no one made fun of me. I didn't get depressed so easy in High School as in Elementary and Jr. High. People probably didn't see me as popular, unless they were to find out how many people knew me. I get along well with different types of people, so I ended up knowing a good portion of my graduating class. If only I understood how to date back then ...

However, I only kept up with a few close friends, so its good for us to all get together again.

[starlooker]

My 10 year is this upcoming year. 2008.

No.

Absolutely not.

I would rather be forced to chew tinfoil while listening to recordings of people noisily chewing alternating with fingernails down blackboards.

I hated high school. Events since high school have caused me to hate my former home town. And I can't stand the idea of being surrounded by people who are either actually succussful and prettier than me or people who are still working at Walmart, but feel more successful than me due to marriage and children.

No. No. No. No. No. No. No.

NO.