I’ve gotten over the stage fright. I have overcome the mean girl syndrome and faced my biggest high school fears. I’m not going to lie, I’m a high school reunion devotee. I was back for my ‘all year’ high school reunion for the third time in 10 years. How does that work? Simple: instead of having individual years celebrate annually, my high school celebrates every 5 years on the school’s anniversary. Many people go back for many reasons but I have 10 Good reasons to go to your high school reunion.There are many benefits to having an all-years reunion: (1) you are likely to see friends from different grades; (2) multi-years celebrations create a greater mass, so momentum occurs and (3) less burnout for class organizers and the high school is available to all. The downside is many will think ‘I don’t have to go this year, I’ll go to the next one’. Or the I don’t need to go back there again. I have to say, most of the people who actually still live in my hometown of Montreal are the ones least likely to go. I also find it ironic when their children currently are or were students of the same high school. Things may be changing, I saw a few more people from Montreal this year, so there is hope.
As I said this is my third reunion and each one has been very different. The first was probably the most nerve-racking. Was I thin enough, successful enough, would I see my high school crush or be faced with those mean girls all over again? In the days leading up to that reunion 10 years ago, I was super nervous and had talked myself out of attending. I reasoned easily: the drive alone was 7.5 hours; what if no one I knew showed up? Lastly, I would have to do it on my own, my husband wanted no part of this reunion. It wasn’t his high school or even his hometown! I give him credit for being the one who pushed me out the door and and told me to JUST DO IT!
10 Reasons to go to your High School Reunion
- Go back to see your old high school. Remember where you use to hang out at lunch, where you worked on the yearbook for months or where you played football. See what has changed and what has remained the same. That “A” gym looks so much smaller today. We still managed to bust a move while we were there for the reunion! This year we went out to the courtyard (likely for the first time), it use to be where the cool kids smoked – I was neither. Who knew how lovely it was out there!
- Say hello to your favourite teacher. Those that loved teaching and continue to teach are the best! Take the time to say thanks for making a difference. They may have helped you pick a path you would not have chosen otherwise. It’s always funny to address your teacher as Mr. Smith and he says, “no, please, call me Jim”. Nope, no can do… you will always be Mr. Smith to me.
- See your friends – through the years we all lose touch with people who we were friends with in high school. Some people use this as a way to finally catch up with that one friend that you had a class with but you didn’t really know what happened to after college or university. I attended this year just to see these three women.
- Make ‘new’ friends – in my first reunion, none of my really close friends attended so I ended up spending the time with people that ‘I knew of ‘ and were friends of friends. It didn’t really matter, after that first reunion we became FB friends and then continued to keep in contact. I can honestly say, I befriend people I really didn’t even like back then – it’s called a sign of maturity.
You gain new Facebook friends. I know how stupid this sounds but that is one of the main reasons I ended up using FB so much. The first reunion connected me up with my high school friends. I even went to visit a one in San Diego. Now we keep in touch on-line. FB groups are also a great way to organize the troops for the next reunion!
- Take a class picture! It’s in my nature to organize people and things and in the very first reunion I attended, I wrote on the chalkboard that the class of 1981 (yes, I’m THAT old), would have a class picture at a designated time. This gave us all the opportunity to be in one place at one time and it also placed everyone in a group class picture. Many took pictures and created more memories!
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Have fun with it and have a good laugh. A friend and I decided to re-create a picture that was taken in high school. The first one was taken in grade 10 when we were dating, the second 38 years later! I’m hoping others will re-create other images for the fun of it. There is another picture I would love to re-create: me on a motorcycle with a group of friends. Some people are around but others… I have no clue where they are. Here’s to hoping they show up next time so we can re-create it.
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Take everything and everyone with a grain of salt. A high school reunion is not about those glory days (to quote Springsteen). Let go of those grudges and slights. We were all young and immature. I tell myself I could care less what that guy did or said, he was immature. So was I. Leave it in the past.
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Share your experience with friends. My girlfriend and I had a chat going with a few (guy) friends that were not able to attend. They were off on a reunion of their own. They still keep in touch after all these years. We had fun sending pictures and texting about the people who were at the reunion in Montreal. This created interest for them to consider attending the next reunion. Only time will tell but it would be great seeing them.
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Enjoy the ‘reunions’ whether it’s a best buddy, a crush or a team/school club member. I was positively gobsmacked when an old friend walked in the classroom! I hadn’t seen him since CEGEP and he looked exactly the same. He was the same UBER-nice guy that he had always been. I was so happy to see him (as were a few of my other girlfriends ). He was a popular guy back in 1981 and he remained a magnet in 2018. In our conversation, we spoke about being friends and the reasons we got along. It gave me pause to reflect on how my girlfriends perceived me and how differently my guy friends saw me. I had great, great male friends and I realized how much I enjoyed our banter way back then. We may not see each other anytime soon but it was well worth the drive to see this familiar face!
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Socialize. Don’t be shy. It is always hard to break the ice and sometimes, you just have to walk up to someone and look at their name tag. I never know which night is better in a reunion, the first one when we are keen to see who’s there or the second when you have a few extra people show up unexpectedly and the drinks kick in. I’m sure having a 2 for 1 happy hour didn’t hurt the social barrier. You may find yourself talking to an astronaut or a CBC news anchor. You never know who will show up😉.
My philosophy on high school reunions is simple: show up, be happy to be there and be prepared to have a good laugh (and a good time). Don’t take it too seriously and appreciate where you’ve come from & where you’ve been. It was great to catch up and to find out about other people who are still part of our lives but weren’t at the reunion. I do keep in touch with some people, not with others and have surprisingly become friends with people I didn’t hang out with in high school. All three reunions I’ve attended in the last 10 years have been great. I look forward to seeing who else will show up for the next one. If you are part of the BHS class of 1981, swing by my FB page and check out the pictures. If you wanted to re-connect reach out and maybe we’ll see you at the next reunion 2021 maybe? That will be our 40th Anniversary – Yikes!
One last note, to those who are living in Montreal but did not attend or are hesitant in going… don’t stay home! Come out. Have fun. It’s harmless.
Margarita Ibbott is a travel and lifestyle blogger. She blogs about travel in Canada, the United States and Europe giving practical advice through restaurant, hotel and attraction reviews. She writes for DownshiftingPRO.com and other online media outlets.
My sister and I have a high school reunion coming up soon, so I wanted some motivation to attend. I didn’t know you could connect and make friends from your graduating class that you would’ve never talked to in high school. I’ll have to keep that in mind and find a platform that we can all keep in contact on, thanks to this post!
There’s something about the nostalgia of reunions that really appeals to me and your experience definitely represents that – sounds like you had a fantastic time! Thanks for sharing.