I don’t know. I kind of liked just getting to go and meet people. A large number of folks from school were interesting acquaintances and it was nice to see what weird turns their lives took. Are we particularly close? No, but it’s nice to see people who you used to joke with at lunch talk about their kids and their weird hobbies, and try to trace the path that got them there.
I never really felt the pressure to live up to anyone’s judgment in the first place, and that’s not really changed, but it was kinda funny seeing the (formerly popularity driven) folks who were trying so hard to really, really impress everyone.
Otherwise, if you remove all the neuroticism, it’s a nice chance to catch up on weird memories that noone else finds relevant anymore.
(Edit to add: It’s very sad that Stephen, here, felt like he needed to be someone else; were we class mates he’s the exact sort of person I’d be there to see, anyways!)
… so, the last two minutes did contain something of a payoff, I’m glad I didn’t give up without catching the end. As for being worth it?
I have met someone whose parents never divorced, who enjoy an adult relationship with them, and who does not seem to constantly trip over her own bad impulses. Someone who’s lived that kind of a charmed life would probably do just fine at a HS reunion, and come away regretting neither the high school nor the reunion.
That’s one person. Literally everyone else I’ve ever gotten to know well enough to find out about their backstory, has come through at least one divorce of their parents. Obviously there’s some self-selection going on, wounded people become visible, really, only to other wounded people.
It’s funny, this video dovetails perfectly with a thought I was just having about the struggle to outgrow our awkward, adolescent selves… It really seems like the most important thing one needs to grow the fuck up, is a certain measure of stability. And for a large number of us, we had to get old enough to leave the house and cobble together our own version of stability before we could really begin to grow up in earnest.
As cringeworthy as that video is, it does remind me how passionately I resented american public schooling, and I’ve had no reason to lighten up about it over the years. By all means, let’s defund the police! And let’s reform the schools, too, and stop confabulating “socializing” with “permanant psychological damage that has the useful side effect of enabling people to work non-unionized jobs”
I cringed a bit at the part in the video where the guy who was Mr. Popular in HS jumped up on the table to draw attention to himself. It’s over, Sir Tries-Too-Hard. Move on.
As it turns out, not really that effective of an ad after all. In the very unlikely event I needed a double, I wouldn’t hire a service that did such a half-baked rush job.
I recognised almost everyone who was there, whether they aged well or not, but as noted it was a small class, well below Dunbar’s Number and not everyone present. As I recall, everyone had a sense of humour about their physical changes (and yes, having name tags helped).
That also goes for people who weren’t popular in HS but never got over it. My friend reported to me that the Il Douche supporter I mentioned above attended the last reunion and spent the whole time was telling obvious lies about his business success, to the point he came off as delusional. His buddy from HS, a fellow Biff supporter who attended with him, was dressed and acting in way that reeked of middle-aged PUA (he also got kicked out of the alumni FB group). They were both bullied somewhat in school, claimed they hated their classmates, but there they were at the reunion.
I went to my 15 year reunion, and came in second for most changed since high school. I kind of want to go to the next one because I’m pretty sure I’d win, seeing as I’ve since changed my name and my gender.
I had a generally good experience in HS. Good number of friends, was in a plethora of activities and social groups, and was generally left alone by the class bullies. I’ve missed all my reunions so far because I’d been living outside the country.
Not sure I’ll go to the next one, and not just because I now live only 1200 miles away. All the people I’d like to see I’m either already in touch with, or wouldn’t go to the reunion anyway. The logistics behind attending don’t seem to be worth the 3 - 4 hours of the reunion itself.
