The Reunion.

Well I have to say that I had such a great time at my 10-year high school reunion this weekend. It wasn't as bad as I expected either. And everyone was just as nervous as I was about the reunion - which made things easier for me. I was definitely nervous, but over the last several years, I've learned to fake the confidence that I felt I was lacking. And you know what? No one even knew!

Things are different now. Everyone was still the same in a lot of ways, but most of them had matured beyond the high school labels. (Pretty much everyone) The guy who was most known for horsing around in high school got the award at the reunion for "Alumni who has changed the least" So true. He's just as retarded as he was in high school. BUT despite those minor things, the reunion was fun. And it really didn't matter who you were in high school, because everyone just wanted to talk to everyone else and see what they were doing these days. And that made it so much fun. I even managed to find an Alumni and her husband who live in our area, and plan on getting together sometime! It was cool because nobody treated you like a loser because you weren't in their old high school clique. It really didn't matter any more. Everyone had gotten past that. When our nerdy (but amazingly smart) Valedictorian stood in the back of the room (he was never that social) during the socializing, people would go back and talk to him. Some of the girls even managed to get him on the dance floor for a while. It was fun. The guy (who I couldn't remember for the life of me) in a floral shirt was dancing with one of the cheerleaders on the dance floor. I was also amazed to notice that she didn't spill her cocktail she was holding while she was dancing. ha ha. But overall, I had a great time, and I'm so glad I went.

I wasn't originally planning on going to this reunion. I've moved past that time in my life, and do not feel the need to go back. However, when Rebecca, my close friend from high school convinced me to go, I temporarily became occupied with the reunion. It's almost like I had something to prove to them, but not quite. I had something to prove to myself by going to this reunion. I spent my high school years living with feelings of insecurity and inferiority. I always felt like everyone was better than me. (silly) Internally, it made things miserable for me at times. I spent way too much time worrying about what everyone else would think of me. (even more silly) Eventually I got over that. But with the reunion coming, I suddenly realized that I wanted everyone to see me for me - and that I now realized that I liked myself, and was happy with who I turned out to be. But after the reunion, I realized that the thought of what people actually thought of me now, was not even a concern. It never even crossed my mind during the weekend. So it's not that I wanted to prove something to them, perhaps as I thought originally. Instead, by spending time with those who I had originally felt inferior around, I wanted to show myself that I was not the same person I was in high school. I was no longer the person who felt inferior around those same people. I'm different now. And I didn't feel inferior when I was with them. It was almost like a way to measure my personal growth. I feel good. I'm proud of myself. I feel like I've come a long way from the person I was in high school. Perhaps I'm still the same in a lot of ways, personality, mannerisms, etc, but I've matured. And it feels so good, and I had such a good time seeing old classmates, friends, and aquantances. And if I were to give advice to those who are still in high school, it would be this - Don't worry about who you are in high school, how you fit in with everyone else, and what type of label you have. Because after high school, the real world doesn't really give a flip about it. And at the reunion, people may recall who you were in high school, but only to remember you, it doesn't mean they haven't realized that you are more than the label you had back then. (And if they do still think that, they have serious problems.)

At this point, I look back at high school with more fondness than I did before. It was fun. I made tons of mistakes, but ultimately I became a better person. But I would never go back to relive that time of my life! But there is one thing that I would have changed - the fact that I was afraid to do my best. I was afraid to try my hardest, because I was afraid of failing. I've realized since then that I am capable of so much more, when I put forth my best effort. (Just a thought)

I had such a fun time at my reunion. I think that everyone should go to theirs. You'd probably be surprised to see how much people have grown up (most of them, anyways) since then.