Ten Years Later
This whole high school reunion thing has begun to really take form. People I haven't seen or heard from in nearly ten years are sending me autographed books or meeting up for dinner.
This weekend I met up with a friend living here in the city. There was the apprehension of not recognizing each other, of not getting along, of us having changed so much...
But it all went smoothly. We both looked relatively the same, although I'd say more polished and with nicer shoes.
I had so much fun talking with her, reminiscing and just chatting about life in the city. She seemed to enjoy herself too.
At one point in the evening she just turned to me and asked "Ten years, how could ten years have gone by." I just shook my head, I don't know.
My dad is going to his high school reunion this summer, the 30th I think. He's never gone before and recently we were talking about the people he had known, the people who are gone. He just found out a guy who had been in his wedding, who he'd lost touch with, has passed away.
My friend wasn't sure she wanted to go to the reunion this summer. Our first. I told her we'd lost five people. Five of the 280 sum that we graduated with died of accidents and cancer. I told her about my dad, and how he has lost a lot more than five. I told her I think it'd be fun for her to go, to see the people we were so young with because you just don't know how long they'll be around.
I'm determined to keep in touch with more and more people.
High school certainly wasn't the best time in my life, and it wasn't the worst.
It's not that we should stay friends with people from our past because of who we were then, but because of who we became, who we continue to evolve into as adults, parents, politicians, doctors, scientists, lawyers, authors, travelers, financial geniuses etc.
Those people we grew up with, knew since the 6th grade, those people have the same memories. We all looked out the same window in Chemistry class and went to the same football games, and hiked on the same mountain, and know about Vigilante day.
There are a small subset of people on earth who will ever have the same, or close to the same, memories as you. As you get older, there are fewer, and fewer. Your music is lost, crushes forgotten, the world becomes just a little bit lonelier.
So I'm going to hold onto those people as long as I can. Make new memories with them to add to the old.
This weekend I met up with a friend living here in the city. There was the apprehension of not recognizing each other, of not getting along, of us having changed so much...
But it all went smoothly. We both looked relatively the same, although I'd say more polished and with nicer shoes.
I had so much fun talking with her, reminiscing and just chatting about life in the city. She seemed to enjoy herself too.
At one point in the evening she just turned to me and asked "Ten years, how could ten years have gone by." I just shook my head, I don't know.
My dad is going to his high school reunion this summer, the 30th I think. He's never gone before and recently we were talking about the people he had known, the people who are gone. He just found out a guy who had been in his wedding, who he'd lost touch with, has passed away.
My friend wasn't sure she wanted to go to the reunion this summer. Our first. I told her we'd lost five people. Five of the 280 sum that we graduated with died of accidents and cancer. I told her about my dad, and how he has lost a lot more than five. I told her I think it'd be fun for her to go, to see the people we were so young with because you just don't know how long they'll be around.
I'm determined to keep in touch with more and more people.
High school certainly wasn't the best time in my life, and it wasn't the worst.
It's not that we should stay friends with people from our past because of who we were then, but because of who we became, who we continue to evolve into as adults, parents, politicians, doctors, scientists, lawyers, authors, travelers, financial geniuses etc.
Those people we grew up with, knew since the 6th grade, those people have the same memories. We all looked out the same window in Chemistry class and went to the same football games, and hiked on the same mountain, and know about Vigilante day.
There are a small subset of people on earth who will ever have the same, or close to the same, memories as you. As you get older, there are fewer, and fewer. Your music is lost, crushes forgotten, the world becomes just a little bit lonelier.
So I'm going to hold onto those people as long as I can. Make new memories with them to add to the old.
posted by ldbug at Monday, April 02, 2007
11 Comments:
Amen to that.
It's crazy how people of our generation actually look better with age - I guess our hair and clothes were just so crummy as kids that we can't help but improve.
ken - :-)
jay - yeah, though we have to deal with wrinkles, our hair and shoes do improve;-)
I've lost track of the number of people I was at school with who have died. It's certainly half a dozen. Bear in mind, of course, that I haven't been in contact with almost anyone from those days since the early 1990s. The first couple died within three years of leaving high school, in motorcycle-related accidents... Scary stuff. Never been to a reunion, but I would consider it if I knew of one.
Wow! You wrote that very nicely! It almost made me want to go to me 20th Class Reunion this year, but then again maybe I wont...I did send an email to an old friend whom I haven't talked to in over a year.
This was a very nice post!
This is a lovely post.
In the last two years, I've just reconnected with my three best friends from elementary/jr. high school (we started to drift apart in high school, despite nominally hanging on to the friendship). I LOVE the feeling of knowing how their lives have turned out and reconnecting with my past like that.
A mate of mine went to the wrong school reunion. He didn't realise until 3 weeks later. He wondered why he couldn't remember anyone or anything they chatted about. He thought he was getting Alzheimers.
ok so over on kell's blog she is asking the question where do you see yourself in 10 years? perhaps at another reunion?! still looking young cause WE DO NOT grow old and WE certainly DO NEVER look older!!! lol
* - I think sometimes it's just about reconnecting with people not always the arranged reunion. You should make your own! Google some people and meet up for a pint:-)
rock - did they e-mail back?
joce - it's cool isn't it to hear about their lives? I'm so proud of people from my class (the ones I've found) most have done some pretty amazing things!!
4D - oh man, that would be confusing!!
indoors - ;-P
my 20 year was this past summer...i skipped...lord, it was such a difficult time, high school...there were so few people who were my friends....and for the most part, they are still my friends now...there are a few folks I would like to find again, but not enough to pretend nicities with those who were so nasty once....and I don't even know if my old friends went...i won't commit to classmates.com...
dilling - but that's cool that you kept close to your friends:-)
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