<p>It looks like I’ll be attending my 30 year high school reunion.</p>
<p>My high school was a small boarding school (60 students in the graduating class) in a third world country. So we won’t be meeting up on the high school campus, and it’s kind of an eclectic bunch.</p>
<p>Truth be told, I’ve had virtually no contact with my classmates since graduation. I’m sort of curious to see how everyone has coped. On the other hand, I’m not the fresh young thing they once knew, and it might be a bit of a shock to meet up with the middle aged version of those I knew back when.</p>
<p>Anyone else venture out to a high school reunion? Did you enjoy it? Or was it an awkward time with a bunch of strangers?</p>
<p>I went to my 20th, after convincing one of my few HS friends to go with me. Thank goodness she was there because I still couldn’t relate to anyone else. One former “friend” came up to me and said, “Oh, I remember you always had such interesting ideas–none of us ever knew what you were talking about!” Talk about fun. I felt like an adolescent who just suddenly looked older. YMMV and I hope it does, at these gas prices.</p>
<p>I went to my tenth, but was disappointed that the people I did want to see didn’t show up…there was a twentieth, but I passed on it, partly because it was a very inconvenient time of year for us to attend.</p>
<p>I may have made more of an effort, but the truth is my class was very clique-y and those social boundaries seemed to still be alive and well , even after so much time. I hung around mostly with the class that graduated a year ahead of me and would’ve had a much better time there.</p>
<p>I would love to be a fly on the wall, but have no strong desire to be there in person.</p>
<p>I go to my boarding school every 5-10 years and recently wrote on CC that my 35th is next weekend. DEFINITELY go if its been that long. You may be surprised at what its like. My brother went to his recently and was regaling us with funny stories about the “cool guys” and how friendly they were compared to the way they were in '63. haha. Seeing my old friends is wonderful, of course, but the bonus of these things can be that you connect with people who you didn’t really have much in common with BACK THEN, but now, do. I have a good friend in your situation who went to boarding school in Latin America, and she recently went to her reunion somewhere in NJ and said it was a blast. Only thing I’d recommend is to NOT bring your spouse because they’ll be bored stiff. (college reunions can be different that way because they’re alot bigger and there’s more to do. I love going to H’s college reunions) Keep an open mind and tell us how it went! (p.s., in case you think I was a cheerleader or something by the enthusiasm of this post I hated my school with a passion. Go figure.)</p>
<p>Another thing, Fendrock, especially in these small school situations the people like you who haven’t been back in awhile are accorded a special kind of status, because you’re not the every 5 years type who people have already seen. I know this sounds silly, but its true. People are really curious about the ones who they haven’t seen in ages.</p>
<p>fendrock - good timing for this thread. Just yesterday one of my high school classmates began a mass e-mail thread regarding our 30th reunion next month. I attended an all-girl Catholic high school, with a graduating class of 120. The school holds a luncheon reunion every year on campus for everyone, but it specifically honors classes celebrating the fives. If people are wanting a reunion that includes husbands, someone else has to plan it. I think that has only happened once. Anyway, some of the people going this year are already talking about organizing some additional time together, either Friday or Saturday night, because, frankly, a Saturday luncheon isn’t enough time to catch up and visit with everyone. </p>
<p>I’ve kept in touch with three or four classmates on and off during the years, but since I live over 1000 miles away, a reunion is the only time I’ll likely see them in person.</p>
<p>When the first e-mail came along yesterday and it inquired as to everyone’s lives and how they’ve unfolded 30 years later, I followed it up with, “Are there any grandmas yet?” Sadly, the answer was yes - that made me feel old.</p>
<p>I went to my 20th and had a blast! My grad class had only 75 kids (small rural public) It was great fun to reconnect. We had all pretty much been together from Kindergarten through 12th and though we have all taken widely divergent paths ( or is that roads) we have so much shared experience that we can find common ground. </p>
<p>bethie…I had a college professor for a father and had always been encouraged to hang with the grownups. As a result I had an enormous vocabulary. I’ll never forget that day when an older girl said " You are so cute! You use all these big words but you don’t know what they mean." Well I did know what they mean but I also knew what she meant and my big vocab went into hibernation.</p>
<p>That happened to my son too, when kids started calling him “The Dictionary” or “The Brain”. I guess that could be considered a compliment, but what it feels like is, “You are a goon from the moon.”</p>
<p>I love going to my high school reunions. Day/boarding school with graduating class of about 80. The thing that surprises me is how much I like the women I didn’t have the sense to get to know as a teen. (Though I do still like my friends too.) I used to keep in better touch with my friends, but I’ve been bad in the last five or ten years.) I decided not to go to my 30th, because the people I’d really like to see aren’t attending, and it was not a convenient weekend, but I’m feeling a little regretful about it now. Our German exchange student attended the last reunion I was at. That was cool. She writes mystery novels now. I actually really enjoy the New York City get-togethers our school runs. They include people from all the classes. </p>
<p>High school reunions I’ve found to be more fun than college or grad school. (My grad school class was very, very cliquey.)</p>
<p>This reunion starts Friday and lasts until Monday morning but I don’t think I’ll plan to stay that long.</p>
<p>They are expecting 36 out of 60, so that really is a large percentage.</p>
<p>How about that “what are you doing now” question? I was valedictorian and now I’m a SAHM so I fear some people will be gloating (one friend used to say she didn’t care what grade she got as long as it was better than mine).</p>
<p>I’ve also gone completely gray so I will not look like one of those Desperate Housewives.</p>
<p>I have gone to a number of hs reunions the last being my 40th a few years back. I enjoyed all of them to varying degrees. At one our exchange student from Sweden attended and we were all very happy to see her again after so many years. With the exception of one friend who had died, almost all my best hs friends attended the 40th and we have a really great weekend.</p>
<p>The thing that amazes me is how little people’s personalities have changed over the years. And while a few classmates have gone on to highly successful careers, many still live in the area and lead very typical lives and are happy duing so.</p>
<p>I will probably go to my 50th if I am still this side of the ground.</p>
<p>I planned my 10th with friends, attended the 20th, and planned the 30th. All were wonderful. We’ve had a few mini-reunions since the official one last fall. I borugh H to all three because I still am close with h.s. friends and they (& their husbands) have become his friends, as well.</p>
<p>It won’t be awkward. Even with a few people I had not seen in 30 years, the old connections came right back. Most surprising was how easy it was to relate to some grads with whom I never had much in common 30 years ago. There is an almost visceral bond you share with someone who has common roots, even though we’d been dispersed far & wide.</p>
<p>I’ve gone and greatly enjoyed it. As a matter of fact, I enjoy it more as time passes. Maybe because I am more nostalgic than I was in my 20’s or maybe because I appreciate old friendships more. </p>
<p>As we get older however, there are fewer of us so now we’re doing it in groups of classes. This year, they are inviting all the classes that graduated in the 70’s.</p>
<p>My 35th is coming up this June … and I am planning to be there!</p>
<p>I went to the 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th …missed the 30th with a bad cold. The organizer said he’d miss me but see me at the 35th. He died two years ago – too young – and I know we will all miss <em>him</em> at our 35th as he’d done so much to keep the class connected.</p>
<p>I graduated from a mid-size day/boarding private school. I’ve also been invited to my public high school 35th reunion this summer – I left the public high school after sophomore year. I have not kept up with that group at all since I didn’t live in our home town after college, but I would like to go and see all the kids that I went to school with K-10!</p>
<p>HA- at my 20th high school reunion, they were giving away prizes-
they announced “Who Drives a Mini Van!?!” And I was the first to raise my hand, so I won a great two CD set of “best rock of the 70’s”.<br>
Now I drive an Accord. The van was great while it lasted.</p>
<p>am tentatively planning on attending my 35th (yikes!) in June, several states away from where I live now.</p>
<p>I have not been back since the 15th and the 20th, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. I had not planned on attending the 15th but was in town unexpectedly. I went somewhat reluctantly, and with low/no expectations. It was really fun reconnecting, and so was the 20th.</p>
<p>I will say that part of the fun was the surprise of who (out of a class of 400+ or so) would attend. Nowadays, with classmates.com as RSVP central, that element of suspense is gone! It will still be fun to see those coming, but I wish that some folks who NEVER have made it back could be there.</p>
<p>Fendrock, I agree with you that staying the whole time might be overkill, especially with the small size of your class. Our reunions used to take place over an entire weekend, but someone got clever and edited them down to one evening at the best Mexican restaurant in town!</p>
<p>I went to my 30th a couple of years ago. It was fun but strange. I moved away soon after High School as did my family and really didn’t keep in touch with many people. I had a hard time matching up people that I remembered with how they looked now. When I graduated HS in 1975 everyone, boys and girls, had long straight hair. At the reunion, many of the guys had lost lots of hair, pot bellies and the women all had streaked hair. And they kept playing that horrible disco music!</p>
<p>Okay, besides that it was fun connecting with people again and catching up. Only a couple of people were into talking about their money or status. The rest of us talked about our kids and the college process (!) and our jobs, lives, etc. As the kids say, good times. :)</p>