High School Reunion Time Already?

You know you are old when you get an invite to meet up with people you haven’t seen in over 20-years.

Recently, I was invited to my high school reunion – well sort of. I was sent an online e-invite from one of my friends on Facebook that also attended the same school.

I checked out the Facebook site for the high school reunion, and saw faces from my past. It is eerie and cool at the same time.

It’s eerie because in high school, you are a very different person then when you are an adult. In high school, and university or college, you are still a kid at heart, becoming an adult. School gives you the opportunity to explore who you really are, which forms the basis for who you become as an adult.

All those late nights studying, those awkward first dates, all the extracurricular clubs and activities, all those wild parties, all those part-time McJobs – all of these experiences and more are just that – experiences.

It is the whole experience of growing up which makes us who we become later in life. Actually, life is nothing more than a collection of experiences, which constantly change and grow us throughout our lives.

But the point here is, although a high school reunion may be fun, I was just as different a person back in high school as all those I went to high school with are today. So, in a sense, we’re all strangers to one another.

Sure the cool part is to catch-up with friends and see what they are up to now, but then what?

Unless you happen to be in the same line of work, live on the same street, or have something else in common, you’re at a loss for connecting. Unless you keep those connections from the past, which I imagine happens.

Although I haven’t gone to a high school reunion – and I’m still not sure if I’ll go to this one – I imagine most of the time is spent remembering days past. What else can you talk about with someone you haven’t seen in over 20-years?

Granted, special bonds develop with those who you were close to during those early years – when you’re growing up, you’re sharing those experiences with those closest to you. But still, once you discuss the past, and share those memories from the past, what next?

The interest in seeing what people look like after all this time, and what they are doing now is the big draw. And it is nice to look back on high school and remember the good times, the silly times, and even some of the not so good times.

Maybe I’ll go just to do that – it is an experience. And that is all that life really is – experience.