Class Reunions

[blas]

I got invited on Facebook to the 5th reunion for my graduating class (call me old and I'll get out the radishes!)...

I noticed others had already put in an RSVP and was just wondering if anyone would remember me or invite me, as I know the class president and I at one point almost exchanged more than words when she wouldn't stop calling me a slut then go and hide behind her jock friends.

But alas, I was invited. Do I go? I didn't go there all 4 years. I'd actually prefer to go to the reunion for my first high school, even though I didn't finish high school there, because I actually grew up with those kids.

It's not until this summer, in July.

I mean, it has to be hard to go back. It was not a pleasant two years at that school. Those kids were monsters, worse than my first school. They are the offspring of the awful Yokel Locals.....there were so many that most I hardly know of or ever heard of, but most of the ones I know of, I couldn't stand.

Is there a chance after 5 years they may have grown up? It is it even worth it to go?

[iradney]

People do change, surprisingly enough. The hard knocks of adulthood help to file down those rough edges sometimes.
Just don't expect miracles. Sometimes they change for the worse, sometimes they change for the better. What matters the most is the change in you.

[r2cagle]

I have yet to go to a high school reunion and I've been out 20 years. I didn't have much to do with them during school and even less now, and I can't even claim any horrible experiences with high school. Any friendships I've maintained, I don't need a reunion to catch up with. But it's your decision, so don't feel guilty if you opt to go or not.

[Greenday]

From what most adults told me, the five year reunion is a waste of time. No one has really changed and not much has happened other than college.

Ten year, definitely. That's when the bums stick out and you get to take your shot at them.

[Plaidman]

No way. I wouldn't go.Well, I never been invited in anycase. Five years isn't enough time for terrible people to grow up. They'll likely jump all over you with more insults, simply because they have nothing to show for it, while you do.

[Sheldonrs]

I got invited on Facebook to the 5th reunion for my graduating class (call me old and I'll get out the radishes!)...

...

Anybody calls you old will have to answer to ME!! My 30th HS reunion is this year.
I went to the 20th, mostly out of morbid curiosity. It was great! I was 125Lbs lighter than when i was in HS and everyone that i hated was either larger, divorced multiple times or dead!

Not going to the 30th though.

[BarbieGirl]

Count me in with the people that think the 5th year reunion is a waste of time. I Just went to my 10th and almost didn't really see the point because all my friends got together before with a few that weren't going and then a few of us went out for dessert after. Although I did get to see a few other people and reconnect enough that now we're facebook friends, One of which just passed away from colon cancer.

So unless you know there are going to be people there that you really want to connect with I would just wait til the 10 year.

[sarasquirrel]

surprisinly i got invited to mine which was last november, i didnt bother going, i havent changed, and accoring to the pictures, most of them havent changed either. besides its only 5 years, and i dont drink and didnt wanna go to bar in hartford alone :P

10 years, i would go, if i get invited

[trailerparkmedic]

I skipped my 5 year class reunion. I figured it wouldn't be much different than high school, since most people were fresh out of college. From what I heard it was not very well attended and everyone was pretty much the same. I don't regret skipping it at all.

[McGoddess09]

Wow. Five years ago, I was going INTO high school. I kid I kid

You would be surprised at how much people can change in five years. None of you knew me five years ago, but I think that you would have had a totally different opinion of me. I don't really like the me that was five years ago.

Ultimately, it is up to you. Are you curious as to how people are doing? If not, don't waste your time.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Haven't gone to any of my class reunions (last one was the ten year one and that was last year), and never will. I don't need to pay money to see a bunch of people I never really cared about anyway.

Instead, if some of the people I was closer with are in town for the reunion, we'll get together for drinks sometime close to the reunion.

[Bright_Star]

When I went to my 5 year High School reunion it didn't feel like a reunion. It felt more like an extra day of school just 5 years later. Nobody had changed that much & everybody was still in their cliques & still just as obnoxious as they ever were. The bullies were still bullies & all the pretty people were showing off. The nerds, geeks & everybody else were in their own little groups too.
It was the 10 year reunion that felt like a true reunion.

[Jester]

Do you care about these people? Do you want to see them, see how they turned out? If yes, go. If not, don't.

Would you rather go to your first high school's reunion? Then go to that one.

Five year reunions aren't really a huge deal for most high schools, and I don't think that many of them actually HAVE five year reunions. So do what you want, but understand that while some people may well have changed in five years, there is a good chance that a lot of them have not.

When my ten year reunion rolled around, I didn't give a shit, and didn't really want to go to see a bunch of people I didn't know all that well. After all, the high school I graduated from was my THIRD high school, I had only gone there my senior year, and while I enjoyed it the most of the three, most of the people I hung out with were not seniors.

When my 20 year rolled around, I really wanted to go. Not because I knew any of the people more this time around, but because my life had changed so very much, and I had a good idea that many of theirs probably hadn't. And I won't lie....a large part of why I wanted to go was the evil side of me. I pictured the following conversation taking place....

ME: "So, what do you do/have you been up to?"
THEM: "I work for Motorola, been there 18 years, got married, had 3 kids, got divorced, I'm miserable, etc., etc." You know, the typical person who succeeded professionally but personally is just not really thrilled with the path their life took. And then the kicker:
THEM: "And how about you? What's going on in your life?"
ME: "I live in Key West, Florida. I've become a professional magician. I've had a lot of jobs I loved, I've traveled around the country, met some great people, dated some lovely women, been engaged, been disengaged, never had kids, partied with celebrities, and I enjoy almost every day of my life."
THEM:

Or something like that.

So, why didn't I go, you ask? I had every plan of going. The 20 year was in October of 2008, back in Phoenix, of course. But my bizarre life intervened. Some guys I had met at the Football Hall of Fame in 06 invited me to attend the Raiders' season opener, a nationally televised Monday Night Football game, where they had tickets right up front in the black hole, and all I would have to pay for would be my air fare and my food.

I could only afford one. Either fly home to see friends and attend some silly high school reunion events with some middle-aged people, most of whom I didn't know, some of whom I couldn't stand back then....or go see my favorite football team for the first time in their home stadium in the craziest section in the stadium essentially for free.

I spent an agonizing five seconds debating the two, and then booked my flight for Oakland.

[jnd4rusty]

I went to my five year, it was interesting to see the changes in people's lives, I had to miss my ten year, they did not have a 15 year but I went to my 20 year. I was one of the few students that was targeted for bullying and was picked on my entire growing up years. I grew up in a small town and went to school with these classmates from 1st grade until graduation. I was shocked when I went to my
20th reunion because over half the students apologized to me for their actions, they were seeing their own kids getting picked on at times and realized how hurtful they had been to me. It was refreshing to say the least. I still stay in contact with a few of them. I did not go to my 25th and my 30th is in three years so I plan to attend that one. Go if you feel comfortable, if only to show them how mature you are..don't feel obligated, sometimes waiting until the 10 or 20 year is almost better because people really change in all that time.

[protege]

Nobody had changed that much & everybody was still in their cliques & still just as obnoxious as they ever were. The bullies were still bullies & all the pretty people were showing off. The nerds, geeks & everybody else were in their own little groups too.
It was the 10 year reunion that felt like a true reunion.

LOL I noticed that there was still plenty of clique-ish bullshit at my 10-year reunion. In fact, many people commented on it I was always a bit of an outcast, and "disappeared" after high school. I fell off the grid a bit, simply because I wanted to get things in order before I could deal with my classmates. I was no longer the "kid from a poor family." Instead, I showed up in a suit. Quite a few eyebrows were raised over that one

But, at least I got to tell Ms. Snotty where to go. That is, one of the guys was a bit drunk, and was (for whatever reason) trying to get me to "meet" her. Sorry, didn't like her then, nor did I like her now. Anyway, he tapped her on the shoulder, and Snotty was all "I've already talked to you, go away." I couldn't resist saying "I see you haven't changed....you're still a bitch." The entire bar was all , and then Totally freaking awesome, since nobody expected it. Because of my usually-polite reputation, it caught them totally off-guard