It's Over

Whew!! Am I ever relieved to report my 20th high school reunion is over. It was one of those events that I'm happy I attended but am absolutely ecstatic that is behind me. What it boils down to is this: People don't change. Those that were kind, funny and down-to-earth in high school are kind, funny, and down-to-earth now but kicked up a notch as a result of having experienced the ups and downs that accompany becoming an adult. Conversely, those that were snobbish and close-minded as teenagers have had 20 years to perfect their technique and can now be considered experts.

If I sound disappointed and disillusioned, I guess I am. I was actually looking forward to seeing people I hadn't seen since graduation. Our class was small enough that I knew everyone in it by name and almost 60 percent attended this reunion. That's a pretty good number when you consider that many people have moved out of the area and had to carve out time to come back for this event. I was convinced that 20 years was long enough to let bygones be bygones and that the passage of time would have dissolved the cliques that existed. I was wrong. The first night had a better vibe to it than the second. As people arrived and worked their way through the maze of those who were already present, they tended to stop and chat with whoever crossed their path regardless of their past history. Though it was unbelievably hot and sticky outside (in October, no less!), the mood of the attendees was downright festive. For the most part people seemed genuinely excited to see one another again, sharing photos of their families and talking about where they live and what they're doing. My, what a difference 24 hours makes! The second night-- which was also incredibly hot and sticky-- the cliques were back. There was less chatting up of people who weren't part of your group in high school and more sticking with your own crowd.

Don't get me wrong: It wasn't all bad. I had a wonderful time reconnecting with people who were important to me back in the day but that I hadn't seen in decades, yet the re-appearance of the cliques made it feel more like high school and less like an opportunity to demonstrate how much we'd grown up in the past 20 years. And that's disappointing.