I’m loathe to admit it, but … my high school reunion is rapidly approaching. And I am not going. I was thinking about it for about five minutes and then I came to my senses. That may or may not be awful of me, but I’ve got some good reasons -- for me. And I bet a lot of you have some of these in common with me. Here are 7 reasons I'm not going to my high school reunion.
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Photo Credit: Box of Light
So, my reunion takes place on the weekend after Thanksgiving. Whaaat? I’m sorry, I’d rather not miss out on leftover Turkey sandwiches, Black Friday with the Other Half, and spending the holiday with my folks. No way. To travel way too many hours for an inevitably awkward situation? NO.
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I Don’t Want to See You
No, really. I’m of the opinion that four years of awkward adolescence don’t necessarily require a lifetime commitment. If you haven’t remained friends with the people you knew in high school for the past ten or more years, well, that says something. However, I promise this is not as cold-hearted as it seems. You see--
High school reunions are a time for former classmates to reconnect and reminisce about their teenage years. But for some, the thought of attending their high school reunion is a daunting one.
For starters, it can be a bit intimidating to walk into a room full of people you haven't seen in years. You may worry about what you will say or how you will be perceived. Additionally, many people have moved on from their high school years and don't feel the need to rekindle old relationships.
This article discusses why the author is not attending her high school reunion. She believes that the awkwardness of adolescence doesn't necessarily require a lifetime commitment, and that if she hasn't remained friends with people from high school in the past 10 years, that says something.
The author also believes that attending a reunion could be a waste of time. It may be difficult to catch up with people in a short amount of time, and the conversations may be superficial. Furthermore, attending a reunion may be a reminder of the past, which can be uncomfortable for some.
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We’re Friends on Facebook Anyway
See, I like many of my former classmates. And what’s going to happen at a reunion is, we’re going to hang out for a couple of hours, we’re going to exchange Facebooks, emails, and phone numbers, and then we’re going to go Facebook, email, and perhaps call each other. If you are in my town or I am in your town, we’ll hang. But we can do that right now! And it doesn’t cost me gas money and heavily discounted holiday items.
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Nothing in Common
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Photo Credit: Jane Diamond
This relates to some of the other reasons as well, but deserves it’s own little category. I didn’t have anything in common with a lot of the people I went to school with -- I was one of THOSE kids. Everybody changes, but I figure that I don’t have many common bonds with a lot of them, and may have lost what commonality I had with others. After all, growing up takes a lot out of you.
High school can be a bubble of sorts, and when you leave, that bubble pops. Like oil and water, I've gone in one direction and many of my peers in entirely different ones. Our interests diverged, personal growth happened on disparate paths, and, frankly speaking, you can't force a connection where there wasn't much of one to start with. Over time, the shared experience of high school becomes a faint memory rather than a sturdy bridge linking our lives. Why try to reach across that gap for the sake of a single evening when there's not enough foundation to support it?
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Crazy Competition
I don’t want to play that game. You know the game. Everybody competing over how their lives have turned out, what they’ve done, what they do, and what they have. Nothing is sacred, everything’s up for grabs. You had a baby? I had twins. You got married here? I got married on Mars. NO.
I've seen enough of that on social media, liking posts I don't care for just to keep up the facade of politeness. It's excessive, exhausting, and frankly, I'd rather not subject myself to the spectacle of one-upmanship in person. Why spend a night proving who's done life 'better' when I could be in my cozy PJs binging a good show, far from the subtle digs and not-so-humble brags? There's something to be said about enjoying your own successes without the need for them to be in the spotlight, or used as ammunition in a battle of life checkpoints.
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Happiness depends upon ourselves.
Return to Cliqueville
I know it’s going to happen. It might be subtler and more insidious, but it’ll happen. As soon as everyone’s together in a room, all the cliques are going to form. To some degree, everyone will act exactly as they did back then, from the arrogant jock to the prissy rich girl to the weird kid in the corner. I’m including myself there, it happens to me even when I just think about the whole thing.
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The More Things Change
…the more they stay the same. Even forgetting the cliques, getting together with a large portion of your past can bring out the worst. You can lose your self confidence, become insecure, and start hating just the way you did back then. If you were popular, maybe that doesn’t scare you, but if you were on the fringe, you know the thought is just a little bit too terrifying.
But I have decided that I’m totally going to the reunion after this one. Maybe I’m overreacting anyway. What do you think, did you go to your high school reunion? Do you have any regrets or would I be surprised if I gave it a try?
Top Photo Credit: newspaper_guy Mike Orazzi
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