Reunions?

[OakLeaf]

My childhood was generally miserable. Like Crankin, I spent my last two years of high school at a school where almost all of the other 20 members of my class had been together since lower school.

But I went to my 25th and actually had fun. I'd cut my hair, I wore a dress, I even put on makeup. Nobody recognized me. All the men were fat, all the women looked fabulous. After the school event we all went to one of the women's house for a few more drinks and talked about our lives now and the GOOD parts of the old times - yes there were some, and G*d knows the only parts of my life that were good back then took place at school.

I'm on my class's email list now, and once in a while I respond to something. I don't have a great desire to go to another reunion - I might've gone to the school's 50th anniversary this fall if I hadn't just got back from Texas though.

So no paste for me as far as the high school reunions. More like baked potato - I could take it or leave it. Actually, I'm much less likely to go to college and law school reunions. I feel so inferior compared to all those people's achievements. It surely didn't help that a woman who was a good friend of mine in 7th grade was plastered all over the national news this year for an important book she co-wrote. I do sometimes feel like I'm the only person I've ever known who hasn't gone on to stellar achievements.

[ginny]

Excellent timing for this thread... thanks, Indy! So, I just went to Facebook for the first time ever... and I 'found' a couple of friends from HS. I emailed them and ...blah blah...

Now, maybe I'm going through an uncertain time at the moment (just moved, don't think I like the new job all that much, miss my old friends...), but I look at everyone's pictures or whatever, realize I haven't seen nor spoken with any of these people in years, and think: they look so happy - they have a brood of children, I have no plans for kids, and I think, wow! Have I totally chosen stupidly for my life? I chose science and a 'career' of sorts over a stable family life and children. I ride my bike, I run, I ride my horse and walk my dog in the woods. I am an athiest and all these people are absolutely religious. I think maybe I should leave the past in the past and realize I made much different choices from the people I grew up with.

Would I go to a reunion? Not after my facebook experience! Please pass the paste!

[Crankin]

Oakleaf, when I went to my reunion, I would say about 95% of the people (both genders) were lawyers or therapists. I was 42 at the time and my kids were 14 and 12.5. Everyone else had kids under 5, if they had kids and I got a blank look when I said I was a middle school teacher. Some people "couldn't believe" that. I wasn't sure if it was because they thought I was not smart enough or that because I was kind of wild as a teen, they couldn't picture it! I still had fun, though.
I guess I fit in now, because I am in school to become a therapist. It must have been in the water.
I found it funny to see how everyone had turned out. I had lots of friends in school and was very active in student government. Some of the former nerds were very successful people.

[Bluetree]

Some of the former nerds were very successful people.

That reminds me of the chant at CalTech basketball games (when they'd get slaughtered by the university teams):

"That's all right! That's okay! You'll all work for US one day!"


LOL

[indysteel]

I had a good laugh over last night's episode of 30 Rock. Liz Lemon (the Tina Fey character) went to her high school reunion and had a horrible time.

[ny biker]

This is a really interesting thread.

I honestly don't care if someone I went to high school or college with looks down on me because I'm not as "successful" as they are. I went to a big, well-known college that has churned out its share of movers and shakers. But so what - they all still put their pants on one leg at a time.

I made a conscious decision about ten years ago to become downwardly mobile. I had enjoyed my career for a while, but over time became dissatisfied with it. So I decided to just do what made me happy even if it meant less income, working in a cube instead of a private office, and a less impressive title on my business card. I'm good at what I do, my clients appreciate my work, and I'm happy. Anyone who looks down on that can kiss my butt.

Same with family. I'm sure some people who look happy in photos with their spouse and kids really are happy, but there's no way their life is perfect bliss because no one gets that. And plenty of those people are probably not happy at all.

[Pax]

I just chatted with my mom about this thread, she says she thinks I'm a "once you leave, you never look back" kind of person because of growing up military we moved constantly...and you never went back, never saw those best friends again.