High school reunion

[Miss Tequila]

"In retrospect, I think the problem was that I didn't drink enough "

Dont worry...I drank enough for both of us

Seriously though, I wonder if it is because high school to me was one big party? I didnt' worry about grades or other stressors....it was about friends and having fun. My high school teachers would be shocked to know that I am not knocked up living in a trailer park somewhere

[thyme4change]

I missed my 10 year to go to a wedding. I got the full report the next day that it was the best time ever and I totally missed out. So, when my 20 came up - we went. It was the LAMEST party I have ever been to. None of my peeps were there. My friend and her friends were there - but it occured to me that there was a reason I didn't choose to hang with that crowd during high school. Not that there is anythign wrong with them - there is just no love connection between us. The rest of the crowd were people that wouldn't know me if you handed them a picture book about me and held a gun to their head.

I would say that I wish they had just found a bar with a separate room and charged a cover, and then had us order food and drinks. It was horribly expensive, the food was horrible, it was just lame. Doesn't matter, I can't imagine what would have to happen for me to go to another one. Maybe if 10 or more of my peeps promised to go to the next one. But I won't go with the same old crowd.

That said - there were a few of things that happened that made the whole thing worth it:

1) My friend's husband got royally drunk, and I had more fun with him than the last 15 years I've known him put together. He was clearly unhappy to be there, and on top of that, confessed about his hatred of my friend's high school friend (male) who was there. Because we are good people, my husband and I exploited that for our own amusement.

2) The beautiful and popular girls were all there, including the twins (who were really nice people.) They both looked fantastic - no question. But one was in all black, and one was in all white. They looked like the good twin and the evil twin. I wondered if they discussed that before they went.

3) We were asked to fill out a form, and they compiled all of them. There was a guy who was super-duper shy, but I had cracked his shell as a senior. He was the most hilarious person - and he would only tell me jokes. He didn't show up to the reunion, but sent in his form and his answers were hilarious!!!

and of course...the best thing ever...

4) I was sitting next to a girl whom I didn't recognize. I asked her if we knew each other (it was a big school.) She told me her name and I told her mine and we both sort of shrugged. I said "Sorry, I don't remember ever knowing you." She responded "I don't remember you either...but then again, I was stoned for pretty much all of high school. We might have been best friends."

[Deleted]

May 22, 2012 15:49:25 GMT -5 Firebird said:

Like muttley, it was mostly because I didn't fit in. I did well academically and I had a decent number of friends but I felt like I was suffocating the entire time. The idea of going away to college helped me get up in the morning.

Were you me?

[thyme4change]

Like muttley, it was mostly because I didn't fit in. I did well academically and I had a decent number of friends but I felt like I was suffocating the entire time. The idea of going away to college helped me get up in the morning.

Part of the reason I went back was to prove that I was still standing. But alas, unlike every movie and television show, I did not go back the transformed butterfly, but discovered the worst of my fears was true. No one gave a shit about me. Not then, and not now. I left zero impact on that graduating class. 90% of my classmates couldn't pick me out of a line-up of one.

[Firebird]

But alas, unlike every movie and television show, I did not go back the transformed butterfly, but discovered the worst of my fears was true. No one gave a shit about me. Not then, and not now. I left zero impact on that graduating class. 90% of my classmates couldn't pick me out of a line-up of one.



No thanks. It would bring back too many memories of no one caring whether I showed up or not in high school.

Thyme/MJ, too bad we didn't go to the same high school. We could have hung out on the Island of Misfits together!

[movingforward]

May 22, 2012 15:54:28 GMT -5 Miss Tequila said:

"In retrospect, I think the problem was that I didn't drink enough "

Dont worry...I drank enough for both of us

Seriously though, I wonder if it is because high school to me was one big party? I didnt' worry about grades or other stressors....it was about friends and having fun. My high school teachers would be shocked to know that I am not knocked up living in a trailer park somewhere

Yeah, high school was mostly a social event for me. I did have a part-time job but for the most part it was one big party. I didn't really have to study much in high school. I did well enough to get accepted to the state university which just fine with me. I don't regret any of the partying I did. By the time my senior year rolled around though I was ready to move on and excited about going away to college. I was ready to meet new people and have new experiences.

[thyme4change]

We could have hung out on the Island of Misfits together!

Isn't that what we are doing here?

[movingforward]

I am glad I have good high school memories but I am also glad to have moved on and to be living halfway across the country now. A lot of the people I hung out with then I probably have absolutely nothing in common with now. Per FB there are a few that can't seem to move on... I think it is sad when the local high school football hero (for example) can't seem to get past the fact that he is a has been and just sits around depressed about his life and dreaming of the glory days.

[Firebird]

Isn't that what we are doing here?

Um, no. Here I am the QUEEN (right?).

[Cookies Galore]

I enjoyed high school so I would have went to my 10 year reunion, it just seemed like it was going to be lame. It was held at a Dave and Buster's that is 10 minutes from my apartment, so I guess I could have went, but... it was however much per person for a buffet of mediocre sounding food and cash bar, at least give me a drink ticket! Also, it was being held on December 23rd, which is when I have the annual Festivus party with friends. I'm in contact with everyone I I was friendly with in high school, but I wouldn't have minded seeing other people.

I know because of Facebook that a lot of people I knew in high school are doing well in life, so that's good to see. Granted, I'm FB friends with less than 50 of the 800 people in my graduating class, so who knows what reality is!

[Peace Of Mind]

May 22, 2012 17:02:11 GMT -5 Firebird said:

Isn't that what we are doing here?

Um, no. Here I am the QUEEN (right?).

<<pats FB on her head>> Sure you are, sweetie.

I went to our 10 year and 20 year. The 10 year was way more fun. I also enjoyed the casual nights the most. The formal nights were fun, but by then we pretty much figured out who everybody was. Some I just did not recognize at all. I felt so bad after they told me who they were because I really like them. It wasn't necessarily that they looked bad or good - just different!

I enjoyed my sophomore year the most but my Junior and Senior year I worked most of the day. I had way more credits than I needed so I was able to only attend 2 or 3 classes. Plus my sophomore year I got to meet all the Juniors and Seniors and they were such nice people! Our class was ok but I usually hung around the older girls after hours or we were in the same clubs. They always voted me in. We also went out to bars after hours when I wasn't working. I had a fake ID that one of them had made for me. Did I mention they were really nice? ;D

[Firebird]

<<pats FB on her head>> Sure you are, sweetie.

Good, good. So long as we're all clear

[Mardi Gras Audrey]

May 22, 2012 16:30:12 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

Part of the reason I went back was to prove that I was still standing. But alas, unlike every movie and television show, I did not go back the transformed butterfly, but discovered the worst of my fears was true. No one gave a shit about me. Not then, and not now. I left zero impact on that graduating class. 90% of my classmates couldn't pick me out of a line-up of one.

LOL....If it makes you feel any better, I didn't even get invited to my 10 year reunion. This despite being a classmate of these people since 5th grade, my parents never moving (They still live in the same house- 3 blocks from high school!), and my sister being friends with lots of people from high school (she was 2 years younger than me and a lot of her classmates were siblings with my classmates). It's nice to know I never mattered. The only reason that I found out they had a reunion was I ran into a classmate about 6 months after the reunion and asked her (We were at 11 years). I was really drunk when I ran into her so I was kinda nostalgic at seeing her and asked if we were having a reunion (It had already happened)

High school was an interesting experience for me. The first few years I was very gung-ho and did student council, sports, and other activities. But I wasn't good friends with my classmates and by my senior year, I had taken to showing up about once a week (My friends all went to another high school in town or were dropouts). I am still friends with those folks (My BFF is one that had dropped out and meeting her while in high school was one of the best things that could have happened to me. I defintely don't regret ditching class to see her!)

I don't imagine that I will be invited to our 20 year reunion and probably wouldn't go if I was.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

I didn't go. I was getting divorced at the time and didn't really need to talk bout that. I also didn't end HS well. I graduated and everything, top 10% NHS, etc, but crashed and burned socially. I could go to the 20 in a few years.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

May 22, 2012 16:42:05 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

We could have hung out on the Island of Misfits together!

Isn't that what we are doing here?

Thats why I'm here! ;D

[qofcc]

"in my class, the people who really loved HS were the people you knew were never going to do any better than that time. And I was right about most of them. "

I disagree wtih this...I LOVED high school...it was one huge party to me. I had a ton of friends and had a blast in school.

I loved high school. Grade school at all of the crappy places my mom dragged me to after her divorce was hell and I was finally able to move back to my home town and live with my dad for 8th grade through High School. I wasn't A list popular, but I was certainly B list popular and knew everyone and was involved in all sorts of things and always had my name in the paper for achievements.

10 year class reunion was so weird. I was divorced with 2 kids and had a better job than half of my classmates and it seems everyone else was either newly married or still single and partying.

20 year reunion I helped plan and the committee voted to dress casual and I lost the vote (after finding the perfect silver evening dress), but tried to be a good sport and showed up with a cotton skirt and tank top and sandals to find out that pretty much everyone else that was not on the committee didn't read the casual part and wore fancy dresses. Spent half the night talking to my classmates who were either taking a break from their careers to work part-time or being SAHMs because their husbands earned plenty enough to support the family. There was some shocked talk about one girl who had married an older man and wasn't having kids. Really? She's gorgeous, he's rich and not bad looking and he's looking at her like she's ice cream and she grew up the oldest girl in a huge blue collar family and helped raise her siblings. And I'm supposed to feel sorry for her? By the end of the night I was just short of crying.

25 year reunion is next month. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I want to go, but I don't want to talk about loosing my son or being one of the 3 grandmothers in our class while some of them are still having babies. I'm kind of nervous about it.

[michelyn8]

May 22, 2012 16:30:12 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

Like muttley, it was mostly because I didn't fit in. I did well academically and I had a decent number of friends but I felt like I was suffocating the entire time. The idea of going away to college helped me get up in the morning.

Part of the reason I went back was to prove that I was still standing. But alas, unlike every movie and television show, I did not go back the transformed butterfly, but discovered the worst of my fears was true. No one gave a shit about me. Not then, and not now. I left zero impact on that graduating class. 90% of my classmates couldn't pick me out of a line-up of one.

Thyme, I'm curious - how large was your graduating class? There's only about 10% of my class that I didn't interact with at some point and I'm fuzzy on if they actually graduated with me. I've run into folks in my class and others over the years that have approached me and struck up conversations because we went to school together but I have no clue who they were until I dig out a yearbook. One guy I had to rack my brain to remember how I knew him in school and finally realized we were in the same 5th grade class. I had always remembered his name but darned if I remembered actually going to school with him.

And thanks to FB, I've found out I was more noticed than I thought in HS. I had some serious self esteem issues in school and was one that was just kind of there - or so I thought until I got to know these folks as adults.

[Deleted]

May 22, 2012 16:30:12 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

Part of the reason I went back was to prove that I was still standing. But alas, unlike every movie and television show, I did not go back the transformed butterfly, but discovered the worst of my fears was true. No one gave a shit about me. Not then, and not now. I left zero impact on that graduating class. 90% of my classmates couldn't pick me out of a line-up of one.

Yes, but that's some of the surprise- the people you didn't know who now have interesting stories. One guy I remembered, but never really interacted with, showed up with his much-younger second wife- first wife died. The second wife is home with their 2- year old and their 3-year old. The guy is 59! He looked really happy. One woman who'd been in a few of my classes but not a friend has gone into the insurance business and has a fascination with jewelry, so we had a lot to talk about- and then I remembered my parents still had a ceramic apple her brother had made in art class (and signed) and given to my sister. I later sent her a picture. Her brother is still an artist.

I referred to it as a group of "old new friends and new old friends"- you didn't know some of the people very well, but strangely you found you had a lot in common with them.

[Deleted]

Seriously though, I wonder if it is because high school to me was one big party? I didnt' worry about grades or other stressors

in my experience, those kids generally didn't make anything of themselves. But then there were some middle of the road kids who ended up being somewhat successful. This one guy who was quiet and did alright in school is now a show producer at Telemundo - single, no kids. Another bright girl who never applied herself is now attending law school while working full time - married, no kids.

The only people I really care about how they are doing is the "top 4". In order of class rank, #1 is currently a Spanish teacher at our high school (creepy IMO) and attending grad school to get her Master's in Spanish education - single, no kids. #2 I think finished med school last year, so I assume she's doing her residency - single, no kids. #3 got married 2 years ago after she finished med school, and she's currently working as a resident in a Philly hospital. I believe she's due with a baby girl in a month or so. And then there's me - married, one kid, and nothing great on the career front. Not how I envisioned my life at 29.

[busymom]

I haven't been able to attend all of my reunions, but I'd recommend going. It's just plain fun to see how people have changed. The guys who were the jocks back then are mostly overweight & balding. The people who never spoke up in class are now the ones having successful careers, and are fun and talkative.

Seriously, the most fun I've ever had at a reunion was my most recent one. Our high school officers were too lazy to set up a reunion, but those of us who went to elementary school together decided to have a reunion. We found old pictures (birthday parties & stuff) and we laughed & had a great time. I think elementary school was more fun than high school. The best perk of high school was getting your driver's license!

[Miss Tequila]

"in my experience, those kids generally didn't make anything of themselves"

I make over 6 figures...I think I made something of myself

[Deleted]

May 23, 2012 7:50:19 GMT -5 Miss Tequila said:

"in my experience, those kids generally didn't make anything of themselves"

I make over 6 figures...I think I made something of myself

I said "in my experience" and "generally".

But I was an overachiever and made nothing of myself, so what do I know?

[Deleted]

I did not go to my 10 (went to DH's and had a GREAT time!). We did go to my 20th and I will admit it was because I looked good.

My hometown had a giant 4th of July Celebration, so they had it on July 5th hoping to take advantage of people coming into town for that. We had about 200 people there (including spouses) out of a class of @ 400. What floored me was when they did the announcement they said "what a great turnout! This is over double of what we had at the 10 year" (so I am pretty sure I didn't miss much! )

I had a pretty good time -- most of my friends graduated the year after me so I was not close with my classmates. I ended up hanging around with a group of Middle School friends. I ended up winning a bunch of the raffle items and the 50/50 split, so I made $200 on the night!

25 is coming up next year and I don't know if I am going to go or not. There's a Memorial Picnic for someone who graduated the year after me and I have heard it's a mini-reunion so I may just go to that instead.

[Miss Tequila]

"I said "in my experience" and "generally". "

Really? I don't see many people defined later in life by their high school years. We had some overachievers who literally had no life in high school that went on to become verysuccessful...but we've also had some that went on to throw their life down the drain (drugs, mad marriages, go nowhere careers, etc). I come from a clique of partiers...one is now a professor at Princeton, I am a CPA, one got a degree in biology and bailed on med school and joined the army and the other is a phlebotomist (she is the least financially successful of us). My one cousin was not exactly a brainiac in school but he is good with his hands and right out of high school (late 80's) started buying run down homes, fixing and either fllipping or renting...he can buy and sell me over and over by this point.

[Deleted]

I really think it depends on the people you're surrounded by. But again, I did the opposite so take that for what it's worth, which I'm guessing is not much.

[midjd]

My experience is similar to Jenny's - although we had two popular cliques, the goody-goodies and the partiers. Most of the partiers are still partying and working minimum-wage jobs with several kids by several guys... most of the goody-goodies have careers and a kid or two, usually with the same guy. And most of the jocks from our class turned into huge hippies (the long-haired, barefoot kind) and are either unemployed or in a band.

Then again, we're only 10 years out. In another 10 years the partiers and hippies could be on top...

[Miss Tequila]

"My experience is similar to Jenny's - although we had two popular cliques, the goody-goodies and the partiers. Most of the partiers are still partying and working minimum-wage jobs with several kids by several guys... most of the goody-goodies have careers and a kid or two, usually with the same guy. And most of the jocks from our class turned into huge hippies (the long-haired, barefoot kind) and are either unemployed or in a band. "

LOL...Well, I've been married to the same guy for 17 years and he is the father of both of my children....but I still love me a good party

[Deleted]

Do you still have your pink satin jacket, Tina?

[midjd]

Tina, we must not have graduated together

Dem, they all look like Jesus - long hair, long beard, no shoes, tattered robes, guitar.

[Miss Tequila]

"Do you still have your pink satin jacket, Tina? "

Wrong era...but I "might" still have some Aqua Net, a teasing comb and frosty blue eye shadow