High School Reunions


In high school I was not popular, but I also wasn't unpopular.  I just sort of... was.  My senior year I was on the newspaper staff and forged wonderful relationships with my fellow writers.  I swore up and down that I would never lose touch with anyone and we'd be friends forever.  Well, here I am 19 years post high school with vastly different views, but similar tendencies.  What I mean by that is when I meet someone and form a relationship, I tend to think it'll last forever and nothing will ever tarnish that bond.  What I've learned over the years it that I am beyond wrong on that and my mind gets it, but my heart fails to get on board.

When I look back now, high school was four years.  Some of the people I knew then I'd known since elementary school, but what was important back then isn't so much now.  I've had 19 years in the workforce to learn that people come and go and sometimes relationships are situational.  Sometimes "work" friends are just that - friends you know because of work.  You may spend time with some outside of work, but once that common bond goes away, so do they.  Other people you meet through work and they become honest-to-God, real friends.  That's always nice.  Even so, they sometimes go away too.  The same is true for high school.  Some people have left, drifted away, or there's been a big blow up.  Whatever the case, not all things are meant for forever.

This is why it seems odd to me now to even consider going to a high school reunion.  My 10-year reunion was canceled and if there's even a 20-year in the works I haven't heard about it, nor do I particularly care.  Why?  The people I've kept in touch with are in my life and the ones I see on social media I can keep up with too.  If we're not connected in either of those ways, does it really matter that we spent four years together 20 years ago?  Not really, if I'm being honest.  Are there people I wonder about?  Sure!  Every so often someone will pop into my brain and I'll think, "Whatever happened to them?"  Is that enough reason to get on a plane and fly home to San Diego?  Nope.

I may have gone from one extreme to the other, but I'm at a point in my life where I just don't have time to spend in the past.  I'm such a different person and I find often that people from the past judge you based on who you were then versus who you are now.  I end up explaining who I am now and it's exhausting.  Plus, the age old question of, "So what do you do?" is hard for me.  I love my job, I have great friends and amazing family, plenty of hobbies... but never really know how to answer that.  A lot of people think Compensation is boring or don't know what it is, I don't have kids, and my guess is people don't want to hear about my cat.  The whole thing just feels forced and meh.

All of this goes back to me thinking everything will last forever.  My eyes are open to the fact that's not true, but could someone please convince my heart to come along?

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