"Hi, I'm Susan. I'm 47 years old, and I've never been to a high school or college reunion. I'd like to share my story. "
As I've posted in the past, I generally don't do parties, especially parties in which the sole purpose of the event is to look at each other to see whether one made sensible decisions about whether or not to date the other party goers, all those many years ago. I am, perhaps, a tad insecure.
Last night a kind and generous high school friend gathered up a group of high school drama geeks, spanning at least 10 years worth of graduating classes, and I insanely agreed to go. A major case of nerves had a while to build up (it was an hour drive, plus an hour of trying on all of my clothes before I left, trying to minimize thighs and cover up my ancient-looking chicken neck).
I stopped to fortify myself with Red Bull (yeah, I may need to enter a Red Bull 12 step program soon...but that's another post) at the Novato Safeway, surrounded by multi-million dollar homes, my Yaris parked among Lexii and BMWs. I was feeling a leetle out of place even before I walked in the door.
But I had a great time. Sometimes it's worth swallowing your anxiety and just walking in the room. Nobody snickered when I walked in, and in fact people who remembered me (many) were even genuinely happy that I was there. I got to hear what's been up the last 29 years for these folks, got to see relationships that we all knew were doomed still in flower so many years later, see children of people I knew as children.
It was kind of magical, to be suddenly in conversation again with some people whom I'd formed strong connections with years and years ago, and then missed for so long. I also got to watch a rough cut of a documentary about one of the guys I used to hang out with, look at a memoir by someone I hadn't known well but who had a great life story, and hear of adventures harrowing and wonderful, mourn losses, celebrate triumphs.
And nobody said a word about my neck OR thighs.
2 comments:
i had my 20 year high school reunion last night, and i had a fantastic time. i didn't get home until 1:45 am!!! i was nervous too, and fortified myself by slamming a glass of wine when i got there (i didn't mean to do that, that's when i figured i was nervous when i realized i drank the whole thing in like 2 minutes). anyway, it was great, and now everyone is getting on facebook to stay in touch. plus i got to make a new dress, yay!
Good for you!
I ended up connecting with my old dramoid friends through Facebook. It's been a lot of fun looking through old photos and remembering our glory days.
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