Went to my HS reunion this weekend.

[ECB]

Do I dare say which one?  *cough* 25 *cough*

I don't know why I'm writing this.  Maybe to get it off my chest. 

Background Part 1 - HS was "meh" for me.  I had my few friends, but I wasn't popular and wasn't really a part of any clique.  I don't have bad memories, but HS wasn't "my" time - if that makes sense. 

Background Part 2 - after our 20th (which I didn't go to), a bunch of people got on FB.  Including me.  One of my HS friends told me this was going on.  So - through FB, connected w/ people, etc, and from this, a few  "mini-reunions" have happened over the past 5 years. 

A couple were a tad surreal - one of the cool/hot guys from HS, "Mark" hosted 2 of them.  To be at his house was just kind of funny. And to have HIM come to ME w/ a story about a class we were both in was just ... surreal!  I was like "YOU remember ME from a class?". 

All in all- it's been kind of fun to connect/reconnect with people.  These smaller gatherings are MUCH more my speed.  I even hosted one last summer. 

The reunion - DH went with me (as he has met quite a few of the HS crowd now).  We had a "fine" time.  Talked to a few people.  We enjoyed ourselves, but absolutely walked away from it thinking "never going to one of those again". 

I get it - it's a reunion.  Clearly people are there to catch up..  But it was just SOOOO 'divided' based on the old clique lines.  Heck- I found out that Mark had a pre-party at his house (which is now actually less than a mile from my house!).  A ton of people who have been to my house were invited.  But I wasn't.  Now- I will say, upon seeing the pictures on FB, it's fine that I wasn't invited.  It really was Mark's crew from HS.  I would have felt a bit uncomfortable going.  The people who I've personally connected w/ weren't there for the most part, or if they were- they were a PART of that crew and were there to see the other people from that crew.  Not to see me - "new" girl.  KWIM? 

This isn't something I'm upset about.  It REALLY isn't.  It's just more that in the past 5 years, I've enjoyed getting to know a few people better than I ever did in HS (if I even talked to them in HS).  And I talked to a few of them at the reunion.

But.... I don't know how to really describe it.  It's just in the end, despite all these mini-reunions, despite the chance for people to get to know each other better/ at all - it just felt like we were back IN high school.

My one friend, who I'd call my "closest" friend from HS who got me on FB in the first place- she hardly talked to DH or I.  Of anyone there- DH knows HER.  we've seen her and her DH a few times in the past few years.   And I realized that while we've had a LONG friendship, we really aren't THAT close and when it comes down to it- when around the entire HS crew, I'm very low on the priority list with her. 

This really wasn't surprising - I'm not a total idiot.  But again- it's just that ALL of this seriously made me feel like I was 16 again and an awkward teenager. 

(Plus, it was a lot of $$ for o.k. free beer and REALLY sub-par food.  None of which I actually ate!)

I've seen HS reunions talked about on these boards kind of negatively before and I always thought "Oh- give it a chance!", especially after how these past 5 years have gone.  You know - people change, and all that blah blah blah.  "you never know!"

Yeah, after Saturday, I'm kind of in the "don't think I really want to bother" camp. 

[Deleted]

This just reiterates my decision to never attend these things.

[cuddlyevil]

I kind of wish we were doing one for our 20th next year. There may be something informal, but I don't know if anyone is really all about planning a big thing. We have a few people who have been really sick and are in varying stages of recovery, it would be really great to see them.

[neonpink]

I am so glad that I have not gone to any of mine. I think it would be exactly like your story.

[margarita]

That really does suck. Sorry, ECB.

I feel the same as doglove. I never go to mine, and it's because I usually imagine them going this way.

[jojoandleo]

I didn't even get invited to my ten year HS reunion. I got invited to the reunion for the class that graduated a year before me. Apparently no one knows me or when I graduated. I did not attend either reunion.

[Deleted]

Mine was cancelled due to 9/11 :*(

[bowies]

Roughly 85% of my graduating class still lives in the same town or in a 2 hour radius. I don't quite understand their need to throw these shindigs since high school friends were college friends and are still adult friends. I was one of the lucky ones who escaped. I intend to stay gone.

And I had a similar experience as you - had my circle of friends, but we didn't really fall into a clique. I have good memories but I have fonder ones from elsewhere in my life.

[Muddled]

No way.

I commend you for giving it a shot.

[partiallysunny]

Fuck. My ten year is Saturday and I'm nervous as shit. And I helped plan it.

You're not helping!

I think your experience is pretty typical, right? Were you expecting something else?

I'm expecting this to be as awkward as Hell and just hope I don't overhear someone talking about me, lol.

[wrathofkuus]

I suspected it would be like this, full of revertigo. Remember me getting all ugh over a potential mini-reunion that I couldn't even attend?

[penelope]

My 20 year was this past summer, and quite frankly I would have rather had the stomach flu. And afterwards, those people that I do still keep in contact with (mostly family) said it was exactly as you described. Junior high all over again. Ugh!

[ladyk]

We had a 10 year and it was small and not very well attended. My 20 is next year and I'm sortof helping plan it. So we'll see how it goes.