On the surface the idea of a high school reunion feels antiquated, akin to George Lucas releasing Episode I: The Phantom Menace exclusively on VHS. In the year 2000 everyone could tell that DVD players were the future so why does someone so obsessed with technological advancement insist on sticking with an antiquated format? That's the long way of saying that there's a perception that Facebook (and the internet as a whole) is killing the high school reunion. Want to see who in your class lost the most hair? Look them up on Facebook (or if you're really old linkedin). Want to wax nostalgic about Pearl Jam's VS? Don't worry Buzzfeed has a quiz where you can find out which track you are (I got Dissident!).
You may have noticed that in that opening paragraph I used the terms "on the surface" and "there's a perception". I didn't feel like what I experienced at my 10 year reunion... 20 year you say? Ok, 20 year reunion, was lessened by the impact of social media. Just the opposite, I thought it was enhanced. For those that don't know, I went to a pretty small high school. Our graduating class was around 85 kids and I would say I'm Facebook friends with around 40 of them. That level of casual familiarity ended up helping someone like me who isn't the most comfortable in social situations like this.
The anxiety medication stayed in my pocket all night
It was more common for conversations to start out with "You just got a new job didn't you" or "I saw you guys moved to Texas.." than the typical "Are you married, do you have kids, etc". I won't try and hide my pleasure that some people I hadn't seen in years told me how funny I was on Facebook and that my children were adorbz (their words not mine). People can change a great deal in 20 years but the reunion felt more like catching up with friends you hadn't seen in a while than interviewing 40 strangers for a job. I also appreciated that I didn't spend the majority of the night waxing nostalgic over slurpee runs during lunch or gym class with Mr Burns. I've had plenty of time to obsess over high school. I'm far more interested in hearing about someone that flies planes for a living or stays home with their three kids than I am thinking about all the times I felt alone and detached as a teenager.
I had one short conversation with someone that brought up a lot of feels from high school. I know they were trying to convey something very nice but for half a heartbeat it reminded me how insecure I felt 20 plus years ago. Of course it was no matter, soon I was reminded that I had to catch the light rail back home before the babysitter turned into a pumpkin and the train was nothing but hoodlums and no-goodniks.
On a scale of 1-10 The class of 1994 King's High School Reunion scored an A-. It would have been nice to have had an extra hour or a bartender that knew how to make a mojito.
Every day in December (work schedule permitting) I plan on posting one thing from my official DevilDinosaur Christmas Wish List (patent pending). Why? Because I can.
