JCC Class reunions- to go to them or not

I got the formal invitation, as it where, to my 20th class reunion on Facebook, and it's brought back a whole bunch of emotions. You see, I had a hard time in school, because of my autism, not to mention because I was fat, so I was an easy target. Kids bullied me because of this, and that is partially why I retreated to comic books and science fiction. After I graduated, my mother, who had to constantly call the school to get these kids to leave me alone, told me to never go to any class reunions. I'm still going to honor her request, which is the least I can do now she's gone. I'll be even easier, because the reunion is going to be held at a bowling alley/bar, and I don't drink. I just don't know what to do if any of my former classmates message me on Facebook asking why I didn't show up, but I was thinking I don't owe anybody any explanation, anyhow.

I just need encouragement that not going to class reunions is okay, is all.

 

I was one of 2..TWO... people who showed up at my 10 year. That's a whole story in itself. My 5 year had probably at least half the class though, though the event itself was semi-lame. My 15 year is next year, so I'm debating if it's worth trying a third time for a good experience.

 

I went to my ten-year reunion, and, to borrow an Erma Bombeck line, "it had all the giddiness of the Nuremberg Trials". I walked in and the conversations consisted of, "Hi, Ken. Nice to see you. You look good. See you later." I had a couple of half-hearted conversations with people I knew, had some food from the buffet, then drifted out to the hotel bar. I had a couple of ginger ales, got a high score on the electronic trivia game, and left.

I'm still trying to figure out who in my class actually wanted to reunite. If you want to go to yours, it's up to you, but I wouldn't beat myself up over not going.

 

That's what Facebook is for.

 

Why would you care if you were messaged about not going?

 

You're so right. Class reunions where you physically meet with your former classmates is so much a pre-Internet phenomenon. With Facebook and the like, you'd think they'd be going the way of the dodo, but I guess not.

Well, I formally sent my notice that I will not be attending. That felt good.

 

Because some of my Facebook friends are former classmates?

 

Do you see any of them in person though?

 

Not really.

 

My 5 year was last Sunday. I didn't go because **** those people.

 

I was incredibly disappointed, despite my shy-to-anti-social leanings, that there wasn't a 10th anniversary reunion for my high school class of '04... assuming they would have showed up, it would have been nice to see certain people.

 

It's definitely okay to not go to them. I wouldn't in your position, although I've never been the type of person who enjoys those sort of things anyway.

 

I went to my 10-year...I have a lot of former classmates on FB but I don't actually talk much to them (as I am sure is quite normal). So was good to catch up with a few people. It turned into a fair bit of 'look how good the school is now, please send your kids here!' from the school admin though, which was irritating.

 

I haven't been to any of my reunions, and I have I think my 20th coming up in four years. High school was absolute hell for me, as I was constantly and mercilessly harassed by most of the other students. A few of them have found me on Facebook, but I don't really talk to them and I avoid the ones who gave me trouble. I don't want to go to my reunion and have the people who tormented me act all fake and nice, because if they do after the years of constant abuse from them, I think I'd punch them in the face.

Thus, it's best I stay away from reunions. Let my classmates think I'm dead for all I care.

 

i'll probably go, when it's time for it. had a lot of good friends in school that i regret losing touch with. it would be fun.

 

Thank goodness my school doesn't do that ****.

 

Skipped all of mine.

 

I made most of my friends in college anyway.

 

Don't go. I don't often like to have the opinion of blatant black and white over dramatic "don't surround yourself with rancid people", but I have to draw the line on class reunions and high school people. Those are the only type of people I just cannot put up with unless it's someone I stayed in touch with and I know is sane. I don't know what it is, but high school people are demonic plague ridden hellbeasts that should be kept at as much of a distance as possible. Don't put yourself in that kind of awful environment, there's no need and you don't deserve it.

 

What are these five year reunion things I keep reading about? What is the point of a five year reunion? Ten years is the minimum, I think.

 

I don't miss high school. I don't miss most of the people I knew in high school. Adolescence was difficult and I was weird but I hadn't embraced and refined my weirdness. Why do I want to revisit all that? Might as well have a wisdom tooth extraction reunion. Like most people I didn't have much choice in which high school I attended, and I have nothing to prove to my former classmates.

Also, I don't see why a 5-year reunion is any dumber than a 30-year reunion. At least with 5-year you're more likely to recall people.

 

There just hasn't been much time to really change at five years, Evan. Some people will have gotten degrees, but there hadn't been nearly as much change in general as with ten years, let alone fifteen or twenty. My reunion years are the easiest to figure out, since we graduated in 2000, and so we just hit fifteen years this past May. The amount of change between then and now is pretty striking. Some of my classmates have many children, and others are just starting their families now (some classmates are in double digits with their wedding anniversaries, others just got married more recently). Some classmates have finished up their advanced degrees since our ten year reunion, while others (like me) just got their undergraduate degrees in that time or are still working toward it. Several people have died, which is something else that (fortunately) hasn't had as much of a chance to happen yet with five years.

The concept of reunions is becoming obsolete with Facebook, so I'm not sure how much they're going to continue. I'm sure they will, particularly older classes, but newer ones? I'm not sure.

Darth Guy