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Actually, I didn't care for high school that much. And no one has accused me of living in the past. But, like it or not, these are people with whom you spent a great deal of time, which means they are a bigger part of your life than you suspect.
The bolded sentence is not true for everyone. Granted there are some people in the world who spent twelve years of school with the same classmates, however many of us did not. In my case I went through a dramatic transition between the eighth and ninth grades. Up through the eighth grade my classmates were geographically centered around my neighborhood. My school friends and neighborhood friends were one in the same.
The transition from grade 8 to grade 9 coincided with the end of junior high school and the beginning of high school. As a result of this transition my friends became disbursed across private schools, catholic schools, a vocational school and the public high school. Throughout the high school years I maintained my neighborhood and hobby based friends outside of school but I never really bonded with the classmates. It's funny how society expects us to develop bonds with the people we simply spent lectures and classes with. More than 90% of the people I hung out as a child were in a different class year than me so going to a reunion that is based on a graduation year is kinda pointless in my case.
Furthermore in adulthood I have had two supplemental employment gigs that lasted longer in duration that high school. Four years of high school is not 'a great deal of time' in the overall scheme of things.
Agreed. I was looking through other CD threads about reunions and its the same posters that are in this thread bugging people about going to their reunions and suggesting they have issues and need help if they don't want to go. It's quite pathetic really. I just ignore them.
True, I've posted elsewhere about class reunions, but I would never term anyone as "having issues" and "needing help" if they don't want to go. Nor do I feel "pathetic".
From this thread in particular, it seems that those who are supporting class reunion attendance are considerably older than most of those who feel negatively or who are neutral about class reunions. I suspect that may be significant.
So - if it's a five or ten year reunion, go if you like, but don't expect it to be very different from high school. Your classmates are still evolving. My own ten year class reunion was a dud - I can barely remember it (and I was there, and I was sober). Because of that dull ten year reunion, I had doubts about the twentieth reunion, went anyway, and was very pleasantly surprised. Ditto the rest of the reunions I've attended - they became better and better, not because of the banquet, dancing, band, or planned activities - but because those in attendance became much more interesting people as time passed.
So if it's a twenty or more year reunion, I'd suggest going, as it's likely that most of your classmates will have experienced enough of life to have matured and changed for the better. Not all of them - at my own class reunions, there have been a few - very few - drunks and guys who hit on women who clearly didn't welcome such approaches. There are also a few women who never emotionally left high school - they remain insecure and easily threatened, yet look for affronts to dramatize.
These people are trying to be around because of these unfortunate traits. But they are the minority, thankfully. Most of my own classmates have become interesting and reasonably grounded people. Not all of them have done remarkable things, but almost all have grown, matured, figured out who they are and lived their lives accordingly.
At "later" class reunions, you can expect considerable nostalgia, a number of surprises, some true confessions, a few apologies, a few regrets, a number of compliments, and usually, considerable common ground discovered, often not where it would be expected at all. There will be warm greetings, lots of hugs, lots of genuine emotion. Most people are more sure of who they are, more mellow, more flexible, and more open to one another. Not everyone, of course - but it's pretty easy to tell the "real" people from those who are still hiding behind their self-chosen and self-imposed protective masks.
Like I said, high school reunions aren't high school. Thank goodness.
Agreed. I was looking through other CD threads about reunions and its the same posters that are in this thread bugging people about going to their reunions and suggesting they have issues and need help if they don't want to go. It's quite pathetic really. I just ignore them.
There are certain posters who always sound like they are dishing out heavy-handed guilt trips when this subject is broached. I am not sure if that is the intent but that is how it comes across to me.
It is also interesting that the topic of college reunions does not raise the same conflict and consternation that the discussion of high school reunions do.
From this thread in particular, it seems that those who are supporting class reunion attendance are considerably older than most of those who feel negatively or who are neutral about class reunions. I suspect that may be significant.
I noticed that as well. However I have also read numerous posts on C-D from older people who are just as anti-reunion as the younger folks.
I went to my 30-year reunion in 2010. Since I went to an international school in India, Woodstock School, and none of us were actually from there (except one), I had only seen one classmate since 1979 and the rest I hadn't seen in 30 years, it was really a big deal. We were pretty much all in the same boat, not having seen each other in decades. It took me that long to want to go to a reunion since my high school years were not great.
I'm glad I went. It helped me get over some bad feelings about the school (not the former classmates). It was a lot of fun.
There are certain posters who always sound like they are dishing out heavy-handed guilt trips when this subject is broached. I am not sure if that is the intent but that is how it comes across to me.
It is also interesting that the topic of college reunions does not raise the same conflict and consternation that the discussion of high school reunions do.
Unless you went to a very, very small college I can't even imagine how college reunions would work.
Getting together with 6,000 to 7,000 of my closest friends who graduated the same year? I doubt if I would even recognize anyone in the crowd.
I did stay in touch with a few friends from college but attending an actual reunion has never crossed my mind.
My daughter recently graduated from college. Her department was so large that they had two graduation ceremonies each with 2,000 graduates. There were graduation ceremonies taking place from other departments from Sunday of one week to the next Sunday. I'm not sure how large her entire graduating class was, perhaps it was also 6,000 to 7,000.
Last edited by germaine2626; 06-11-2014 at 10:19 PM..
Unless you went to a very, very small college I can't even imagine how college reunions would work.
Getting together with 6,000 to 7,000 of my closest friends who graduated the same year? I doubt if I would even recognize anyone in the crowd.
I did stay in touch with a few friends from college but attending an actual reunion has never crossed my mind.
My daughter recently graduated from college. Her department was so large that they had two graduation ceremonies each with 2,000 graduates. There were graduation ceremonies taking place from other departments from Sunday of one week to the next Sunday. I'm not sure how large her entire graduating class was, perhaps it was also 6,000 to 7,000.
I didn't even know there was such a thing as college reunions.
I didn't even know there was such a thing as college reunions.
Someone probably started a business selling that.
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