Tonight is my 10-year high school reunion. Unfortunately, due to my travels, I won’t be attending, but I have to say, I’m not all that bummed about it.
Sure there are people that I would like to get the back stories on, but I am sure I will hear all about it when I reconvene with the friends from high school that I still keep.
I look forward much more to the 20 year reunion and I’ll tell you why:
- The 10-year reunion is likely to be an overt display of “my story tops your story” and all other forms of life-competition… Who has the best job, coolest car, biggest house, cutest kids, best looking wife (I’d win that one)… and that kind of game-playing doesn’t interest me. The 20-year reunion is more akin to reminiscing without the competition. By this time, half of all alums will be divorced, many will be overweight, and most will have gone through at least one career change. Hard to be competitive with a background like that.
- The 10-year reunion will likely have many looking a lot like, or better than, they did in high school. As mentioned above, at the 20-year event, many people will have lost their shine. But at the 10-year, when most of us are young professionals struggling to understand what it’s like actually having money, people will go all out. They’ll dress to the nines, they’ll get makeovers, and manicures, and peticures, and facials, and $200 hair-dos. They’ll buy $1,000 suits, and rent fancy cars (unless they have one of their own), and strut in like they are the king/queen of the world. This, again, is not for me. I lead a simple life and am happy being a simple man.
- And finally, at the 10-year reunion, it hasn’t been long enough for people to forgive and forget. That kid you pushed around in junior year, he still remembers you. And now he’s looking to settle things (see above) because he owns his own web company and has a 5,000 square foot house on each coast. Addtionally, the girl you had a crush on and accidently spilled soda on at lunch time in freshman year still remembers you as a goofy little nerd. By the time the 20-year reunion rolls around, you’ve got all kinds of people saying, “Really? Wow, I don’t remember that.”
So, as you can see, missing the 10-year reunion doesn’t really bother me… I’ll catch everyone at the 20. Besides, I’m still friends with most of the best people I know from high school.
If you are reading this on Saturday and are going to the reunion tonight, have a great time and don’t get too caught up in the silliness of competing with everyone. Be yourself and laugh a lot.
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