Anyone go to their 30-year high school reunion? What's the point?

[begin_within]

I missed my 20-year high school reunion, because I only found out about it 3 days after it happened! The people who organized it didn't do a very good job of tracking me down. It was in 1997, and my stepmother was still living in the house that I was living at when I went to high school, so they could have just mailed a notice there and she would have sent it to me.

Now, I got an announcement from classmates.com that a few people from my graduating class are planning a 30-year reunion next year. I got out my high school yearbooks and looked through my class. (By the way, you couldn't pay me enough to post my picture from that book here, with the embarrasing 70's shoulder-length hair.)

Sadly, there isn't a single person from my high school that I have kept in touch with. I am wondering, what is the point of having a 30-year reunion? If you haven't kept in touch with these people for 30 years, what is the point of seeing them? What would you talk about? Memories from 30 years ago? Can you even remember the things you said and did back then? The people who have remained friends for 30 years after graduating don't need a reunion. They already are in contact with each other.

My sister, who went to the same high school and graduated 3 years before I did, went to her 20-year reunion in 1994, which was held on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA, and she said she had a great time there. But I am wondering, should I even bother to go? Wouldn't I be walking into a roomful of virtual strangers? I looked through the list of people from my class who have signed up at classmates.com, and there is only one who I would even be interested in talking with now.

Anyone been to a 30-year, and what was it like?

[MrScorpio]

1. I went to my 20th... Big mistake

My 30th is in 3 years

Fuck it, I'm not going

[Oeditpus Rex]

3. Dude

I totally didn't think you were that old. :shrug:

[MrScorpio]

6. Oh, yeah

I got a few years under my belt

[Oeditpus Rex]

7. Man, I figured you were in your late 30s

:thumbsup:

[MrScorpio]

8. Nope, mid-forties

Fifty will be here soon

[shanti]

26. smart man

believe me, if your 20th was a bust, the 30th will be no better. save your money.

[Oeditpus Rex]

2. I saw some photos online from my 30th

Karen Pettigrew got new boobs!

[Cygnusx2112]

4. I'm not old enough to have a 30 year just yet (getting there tho)...

But really, here's your answer right here -->


Sadly, there isn't a single person from my high school that I have kept in touch with. I am wondering, what is the point of having a 30-year reunion? If you haven't kept in touch with these people for 30 years, what is the point of seeing them? What would you talk about? Memories from 30 years ago?



Good or bad, that's all you need to know.

[begin_within]

9. It was in the first few years after graduating that the bonds dissolved.

If we had had annual reunions for the first few years, then maybe every other year, and then every five years, people would probably still know each other. But right after graduating, most of us went on to college, going our separate ways, and that's when the connections were lost, I think, during the college years.

[av8rdave]

5. I never went to a high school reunion...

Because I went to two different high schools in two different states, and never really stayed in touch. However, I've never missed a college one (went to my 25th last year) and they have all been a blast.

[Midlodemocrat]

10. I think I might be going to mine at Thanksgiving.

I went to my 25 year reunion 5 years ago and had a great time. I'm still in contact with some of my friends from then, mostly via email since we've all moved away.

It was nice to catch up with some folks that I hadn't kept in contact with; nice to see what everyone is doing.

[lizziegrace]

11. I'm a year behind you - 1978

I've lived all over and have never been invited to or attended a reunion. I hear from a couple people through classmates occasionally, but I haven't kept in touch with anyone all these years.

When ours comes up, I won't go. I don't like spending all that time with strangers.

[NewWaveChick1981]

12. My 25th high school reunion was a week ago today, and

I skipped it. I didn't want to relive the high school years---they were awkward and somewhat painful, and I haven't seen most of those people since graduation. I have kept up with the ones I really wanted to, so I'm not disappointed at all.

:hi:

[bikebloke]

13. Missed them all - luckily

My 10th came while I was a poor traveller exploring the world. Later, while at an orienteering meet, a guy from high school (and junior high school) told me they were looking for me. I don't know if there was a 20th or 30th. The thing is, for folk we haven't seen in 20- 30 years, we remember them as they were then. I'm sure we've passed each other in the street without recognizing one another's middle aged selves.

Anyway, there are periods of my life after high school I'm more nostalgic about. Like my poor travelling and Israeli hillbilly years.

[RetroLounge]

14. I went to my 10. Waste of time.

My 20 never happenned, or I never heard about it.

My 30 is in 3 years, will skip that too.

Although, I must say, going to all three with different wives has a certain appeal...

:9

RL

[Deja Q]

15. Didn't go to my 10th or 15th

Won't be going to any of the future ones.

The present means more to me than remembering my past. :)

[trof]

16. Just to see how OLD everybody looks.

;-)

[begin_within]

17. I'd rather just look at their pictures on a web site or something.

[shanti]

27. you wouldn't recognize them

seriously.,

[AirmensMom]

18. They've never bothered to track me down,

even though my parents still lived in the same town until about 10 years ago. I wouldn't go anyway. I hated high school and don't have any desire to see those people again. I tossed my yearbook about 25 years ago.

[johnnie]

19. I went to my 10th

I wasn't going to, but i got a bunch of people calling me to ask if I was going so I did. I blew off the rest and don't really care. I had a blast in those years, but I had a blast since too. I'll never understand people's fixation on those 3 - 4 years of their lives. Either good times or bad times, get over it people.

[Tyo]

20. I don't want to see most of those people again

I didn't even consider going to my 5th. I have stayed close to the people who were (and are) my friends. Screw the rest of them :grr:
(okay so I'm a little bitter. I admit it. Maybe I need therapy, I don't know)

[Arugula Latte]

24. I think a lot of people feel that way.

Lots of nasty, nasty stuff going around when you're 14 - 18. Scars from high school are deep indeed. Those four years seem like they last forever. Then, after that, the years just fly by. :hi:

[Tyo]

35. Okay, well I don't hate them exactly

I was kind of cranky when I wrote that. But I have no interest in seeing them again and I really don't care what they've been up to since we were "released". I wish them well though. Most of them anyway

[idgiehkt]

21. I haven't gone to any of mine

I changed schools my senior year so I never got invited to either one. Are you supposed to be invited?

I don't feel like I was anywhere near who I really was in high school so I think I didn't relate authentically because I was so shut down and just behind maturity-wise. There are some 'geeks' or whatever that I hung out with that were in lower grades than me that I'd love to reconnect with, they were the funniest guys ever, just hysterical, but other than that, no thanks. I have to say the kids in my grade were really cool, alot of brains and nerdy types. But when it was over for me, it was over.

I went to a junior college and I think I've been to a couple of homecomings for that, which is kind of a reunion. I don't remember too much, drunk as usual.

[seaglass]

22. My 30th is this year too and I have no interest in going. The weird

thing is that I live in the same town I went to HS in (yes, I did move away for a while, but settled here and won't move again til my kids graduate from the same HS).

How many people in your graduating class? I had over 600. I can't think of any of them that I miss but I did hang around more with people who graduated in '74 and '75, some of whom I still see.

[WCGreen]

23. I went to my 30th and had a great time...

I have kept in touch with only about five people....

But hey, it was great seeing how everyone turned out...

[shanti]

25. reunions.....:(

i feel the same way as you about reunions. my 30th was 3 years ago, and i didn't go. i did go to my 20th with a former classmate/friend (we are no longer friends), and that decided it for me not to attend any more. lots of bottle blonde women, bald men, and most everyone had gained weight. the assholes then were the assholes now. lots and lots of bragging....

been there, done that, never will do it again.

[Joey Liberal]

28. I avoid my high school reunions

I don't keep in touch with any of them. My class had a lot of cliques anyway. Fuck em.

[onecent]

29. I thought I was the only one. I think it's simply to see who has

won the most toys, and who has LOST. Or who is still skinny, or has gained weight. Who has a cute husband, and who's not married...etc....

I don't show up....No one's business.

BTW..the biggest NERD in our class turned out to be the prosecuting attorney for our area. That's the way it is.

[bigwillq]

30. I just went to my 10th

and had a kick ass time!
:bounce:

[philosophie_en_rose]

31. Reunions are for two things: comparing yourself to others & reconnection

I haven't even had a 10 year anniversary yet, but the only reason I would go is to catch up with people I've lost track of or to see how people turned out after ten years.

[BrotherBuzz]

32. I went to my 30-year reunion and enjoyed it immensely...

The first ones were crappy because everyone was comparing notes and swapping lies about their successes - or failures.

The thirtieth was different. It was a lot more laid back with time to share and reminisce about the past. I had a profound experience when I found myself sitting at a table of eight when someone noticed that all eight of us were from the same grammar school. It wasn't planned, it just happened and it was a neat moment. Eight people that chose eight very divergent paths in life sitting at the same table having known each other for over forty-three years, I have fond memories of that moment.

[stanwyck]

33. Bob, this is why you should go.

You might think those people are strangers. They're not. You're connected to them. No matter what has happened in these years past high school, you're remembered. Maybe you haven't kept in touch. That's fine. Maybe you have a wonderful group of friends in your life now. That's cool. But those former classmates have a bond with you. Shared experiences. And you'll be surprised how many want you there and will be genuinely happy to see you.
I went back to my 30th reunion in Illinois. At this point in people's lives, they're over trying to impress anyone else. It's not about the career, money, the possessions. They want to be with people who remember them when they were young. And that's not as pathetic as it might sound. It's actually fun. You laugh and relive some old shared experiences....teachers, sports, wild stories, gossip.
And you remember a little bit of the person you were then. And what life was like.
Go.

[Zorro]

38. Go, absolutely

I've been to a few reunions, and have always enjoyed them. The 30th was fun -- everyone was quite relaxed with who they were, and it was interesting to hear about their lives and talk about high school days.

[WolverineDG]

34. My class must be weird

I don't know why, but my class of all the classes that graduated around us, are an extremely cohesive bunch, even though we graduated 25 years ago. Some folks got fed up with the Classmates site & formed an internet group. It's pretty cool. Some people obviously have not gotten over high school (I guess, sadly, it was the best time of their lives), while others have moved on, matured, & can discuss things completely unrelated to high school (like MIHOP). And yet, we all get along. My theory is that while we were sophomores, some seniors decided to play a prank & release tear gas throughout the school's ventilation system on their last day of classes. You didn't hear about it on the media, although today I'm sure it would play like Columbine, but that one incident has impacted each of us in different ways that still affect us today. Many of us, self included, didn't realize until our mini-reunion this summer, that we are still so damn angry about what happened. If the prank had gone off as planned, the doors would have been chained & kids would have died.

You might want to go to your reunion just to see how everyone turned out. You might be surprised.

dg

[Dora]

36. I accompanied my husband to his 30th just this summer.

My husband's h.s. was small, and he was one of the very few who left the community for a life outside. He had a great time. Oh, there were some who wouldn't talk to him, but there were others who were sincerely happy to see him and curious about his activities over the past 30 years.

I'd recommend that you go solo, though, unless you're paired with a self-reliant and confident partner. People who go to reunions aren't interested in meeting/mingling with people they've never met. It kind of defeats the purpose of what a reunion is. Everyone was very nice to me, but I spent most of my evening chasing our son around the golf course and standing for photo ops.

I couldn't attend my ten-year, but I'm looking forward to attending my 20th next year. Haven't spoken to any of my classmates in 10-15 years.

[quiet.american]

37. Even five years or so after I graduated, I couldn't remember anybody

I would literally be like an amnesia victim, literally walking into a roomful of total strangers.