REUNION!!!

I wasn’t sure what to expect.  Last night was a high school reunion and I have seen them in the past on TV and I have been to others with “partners” (perhaps as arm candy, who really knows).  On TV the protagonists have issues with their high school and/or their classmates and the dramatization tended to geared for comic effect and does not  show a glowing example of high school reunions being a productive way to spend an evening.  I had no clue how I was going to experience the night.

Throughout the evening and different conversations with different people it had been acknowledged that, “Keith, you are just the same.”  It was intended as complimentary, and I appreciate being acknowledged for being so.  I have prided myself on having been honest with myself to everyone I know and I feel that I have been successful, but it being shown at the reunion, what does it show about me?  During high school I learned to become more involved with myself.  Not to suggest that I was a different person or my personality was altered, but I became more of an observer than an active participant in interactions with my classmates.  In other words I went from having a few tight and close friends to no close friends and a whole bunch of people who I share memories with but not global context for which those pleasant memories could fit within.

Unlike the TV reunions, it seemed as though everyone was polite, pleasant and had a great time interacting with each other, there appeared to be no drama and it looked like there were many connections that have been severed by the coarse blade of time that were sutured over the course of a few hours.

There were about one third of the graduating class who attended the reunion.  I had hoped there would be more and I missed every student who was not there.  However, I don’t think I would have been able to connect with as many people as I did if there were three times as many people; at least not as well as I was able to connect with the ones who were there.

Recalling high school, as well as adulthood, there tend to be cliques.  Although the students who attended the reunion were varied across the cliques, there seemed an absence of “core” cliques.  That just may have been a coincidence, in fact it is likely to be the case.  People grow up, people have lives, people move, people have other commitments and people are not able to attend a high school reunion.  I believe that I spoke to everyone at the reunion and truly, I enjoyed every conversation.  I would like to carry on the conversations in the future, but that will have to be resolved in the future.  The rusty scalpel of time may not permit for the connection to gain a foothold.  Nevertheless, I feel I was able to enjoy the night and am hopeful to expand upon what I have learned about so many classmates who after high school I lost touch with.

Being as outgoing as I am I figured I would have a nice time; but I was not certain what to expect from the evening.  I didn’t expect that the reunion was going to be like any I saw on TV.  I didn’t expect it to be like any that I have attended as a “plus 1”.  I am pleased that it went as well as it appeared to go for the populace who attended.  It may be nothing will change with the interactions with people who I have fond memories with, but I hope my new outlook on life will bring forth closeness with people who I have missed out on many years with.