Reunions?

[indysteel]

I'm glad to hear there are some other paste eaters out there! The weird thing for me is that I didn't hate high school. I didn't love it either. I'd love to see some of my old teachers. They meant a lot to me. But neither school nor my classmates was awful.

The bottom line is that I feel like a different person today. Going to a h.s reunion would reunite me not only with classmates but also to a version of myself that doesn't really exist anymore. It's sort of weird to think of the current you being so removed from a past you.


What bothers me about this is the strength of my reaction to just the thought of a reunion. I feel like I have some additional work to do to release some old baggage. Doing that work doesn't mean that I'll end up wanting to go to a reunion anymore than I do now; just that thoughts and memories of the past would have less hold on me than they apparently do. I've already done a lot of work in that regard so it was surprising to feel so emotional about it today.

Anyway, thanks for sharing!

[bmccasland]

AC/DC
I grew up an Air Force Brat - so I went to two different High Schools. DID NOT like the one I graduated from. This was pretty much reinforced my freshman year of college when I went back for Homecoming, and got the glance, and "oh hi", nothing more.

Haven't been to a university reunion either per sae. About 5 years after I graduated I was invited to a "departmental" reunion camp out - multiple years of students and professors (I was a Wildlife Ecology major). And that was an absolute blast! Was fun meeting some of the students that were the legends, pranks, by the time I was there. And hearing retelling of some of the stunts I was a part of.. Moi? Innocent Moi? was amusing too. Nothing quite like passing around a collection jar to buy a professor a new pair of jeans because he blew the crotch out of his playing volleyball at the event, and didn't know it. We were all happy he had on tighty whities.

The difference between the two: High school, I felt like I didn't fit in, thus absolute no desire to see those people again. College - I did, and was a student in a small fairly close knit department of a major university. Of course it's been mumble mumble mumble 27 years since I've graduated, and I haven't attended anything since that camping trip.

[Crankin]

I moved in 10th grade and went to a really small private school after that.
However, when my mom died 12 years ago, one of my friends from middle school saw the obit in the Boston Globe and got my phone #. She called and said the 25th reunion was in 2 weeks! We went...
It was great. Most of the people there were the kids from my elementary school and neighborhood. None of my other close friends except the one who called (and actually lives about 20 miles from me) were there, but my first serious boyfriend was. Oh yes, the one I still saw until I went to college, flying up to MA from Florida. It was actually therapeutic. And the, ah, girls who still live in the city where I grew up were horrified we we hugged goodbye in full view of my husband. I had fun, but once was enough.

[Midmichigangal]

My ten year high school reunion was supposed to have been in 2004 (I graduated in 1994)but the person in charge of planning it decided to change it to the following spring/summer but haven't heard anything since.

It would of been interesting to see how much older everyone looks, like adults instead of teenagers back in high school.

[Flybye]

I just went this summer with my husband to his. He didn't really like high school. We both had a BLAST. I can't say enough about how great it really was. I felt bad for those who stayed home and missed out. People really changed. There was one click who didn't, but the rest of the folks were FUN FUN FUN!!

[Aggie_Ama]

I had a decent high school experience. Was involved (newspaper and civic type things) but I don't care about my classmates much. I live in the same area and sometimes run into them at the store. I find it often turns into a pissing match of what you have done, what you got and who you still run with. Funny thing is a run into people who didn't really consider me cool enough to be their friends, I didn't care then and I don't really care now. I do not talk to any of my high school pals. No big grand falling out, we just became different people. I am married to the boy I dated in high school but he went to another school. We didn't go to his 10 year, I think he would have liked to but I wasn't too thrilled. Mine is next summer, I don't see myself wanting to go.

[tulip]

<snip> What bothers me about this is the strength of my reaction to just the thought of a reunion. I feel like I have some additional work to do to release some old baggage. Doing that work doesn't mean that I'll end up wanting to go to a reunion anymore than I do now; just that thoughts and memories of the past would have less hold on me than they apparently do. I've already done a lot of work in that regard so it was surprising to feel so emotional about it today.

Anyway, thanks for sharing!

No shame in doing some work. When my marriage ended, I realized I had a whole lot of work to do, and I've been doing it and things are much better than they were; in fact, they are much better than they have been in a long, long, time, maybe ever. In my case, my "work" centers around a very unhappy young childhood where always felt like I was in the way...from as early as I can remember. I encourage you to follow your instinct and explore doing that work (I have a great therapist, and that's one way, but there are others, too).