Highschool Reunion
Posted by _chkm8_@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 83 comments
Yay or Nay? My 35 year reunion is coming up this summer and I'm debating whether to attend or not. I skipped all the previous reunions but a part of me is curious.
With social media, it has made keeping up with people I want to keep up with possible. Plus, attending these things just feels Ike a way for people to measure up their lives against their high school peers. At least those are the excuses I've used in the past to skip pit on these things.
What do you say? What kind of experiences do folks have with attending their high school reunions?
joshua_addison_music@reddit
Depends on how you’re doing at the time
ONROSREPUS@reddit
IMO, If you have never been to a single one, go. I went to my 30th and had a decent time. I don't know if I will go to another one but it was interesting to see people that I haven't seen in 30 years.
FlatSixFun@reddit
I’m in this boat. Never have been, my 30th is next year. Might have to do it so that I’ve at least done one.
ONROSREPUS@reddit
This sounds bad but I enjoyed seeing the people that were suppose to be so awesome and succeed and really didn't turn out to be shit.
FlatSixFun@reddit
Yeah, I think it’s a bit of my morbid curiosity that is pushing me to go to this one. Also, I’m retired now, I’m always looking for free entertainment. This also means I should probably show up in my 911. 🤔
ONROSREPUS@reddit
Wife and I went to the 30th in my 69 Mustang.
Philosopher2670@reddit
Class of '87. I've been to my HS reunions every 5 years. My class was fewer than 300 people. The reunions are about 60-70 people (?). It's been really nice. Next yar will be our 40th!
Opening-Squirrel-433@reddit
My 40 is next year. I’ve not been to any. Don’t plan to go to this
belligerent_tortoise@reddit
Nope. I didn’t go to my prom or any reunion. There’s no point.
mltrout715@reddit
No
burlyswede@reddit
100% GO. I went to 10, 20, 25 and 30. I had fun at all. But 10 and 20 were the best. 25-30 were fine and all, but by then nothing much changes in 5 years at that stage in life. Since you haven't been to any of them I am willing to bet you will really enjoy it.
siamesecat1935@reddit
I graduated in ’84. I didn’t go to any of the ones I knew about (and not even sure we had them every 5 years) until my 25^(th). I was shy and awkward and VERY self-conscious in HS, and actually wasn’t even sure about going to this one. But a friend convinced me to go, so I said WTH and signed up. Still anxious, but determined to go.
I have to say, I had a good time. My class was about 500, so there were some people I never really knew at all. I went with a good friend, one of the few I still keep in touch with, reconnected with a lot of my classmates I had casually known, and got to know people I didn’t really know back then.
My take on it, was at that point in life, no one really cared who you were in HS, what you did now, etc. Most people were just happy to be there and reconnect and have fun. I will say the popular girl clique was kind of still the same, stuck together and didn’t really give anyone else the time of day, but I really didn’t care as I didn’t like them much back then!
I haven’t been to one since; my 40^(th) was in 2024 but if I can, am planning to go to the next one.
No_Maintenance_9608@reddit
I went to 10, 25, 30, 35. When I was younger I wasn't crazy about them. As I'm getting older I decided why the heck not and I've actually enjoyed them especially when at each reunion I get to know someone I didn't have the chance to know at the time. Also in the back of my mind I sometimes hold out useless hope a classmate I had a crush on is now available and my chance to get to know them.
My graduating class was big; my high school was closed after my junior year and we merged with the rival school down the road. The school district is actually going to re-open my old high school because the other school is now at or beyond capacity.
But to each their own, and you're right with social media it's easier to stay connected.
Secret-Function-2972@reddit
My class stopped having reunions after our 20th.
Class president moved 2000 miles away after graduation and no one else local picked up the slack of planning, so they died on the vine. This would also be the year of my 35th. I'd go if there was one, but I'm also not interested enough to try to bring it back from the grave.
Objective_Joke_5023@reddit
I went to 30 and 40, and I recommend going. It was good to catch up with some people, and even the ones I didn’t care for had softened with age. It helped me get over some of the trauma from school. I had moved away from the small town where I grew up as soon as I graduated and mostly hadn’t kept up with old friends. If you’re more in touch with everyone already, it would probably mean less to go.
deleted_by_reddit@reddit
[removed]
GenX-ModTeam@reddit
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Melodic_War327@reddit
I had fun at mine, but I didn't really hate any of my classmates or anything. It was kinda fun to catch up.
Elegant-Error-8010@reddit
I haven't been to any of mine. Do have my 30th coming up this year. I might go to this one. Only because someone i had a crush on in high school (and still do) will be there and we are both single now. Might take my shot after 30+ years.....lol.
Jas62021@reddit
Nope. My class has never done anything official.
MaxFischerPlayers@reddit
Meh.
ZommyFruit@reddit
Went to 5, 10, & 20 and they were fun. They were at bars/restaurants and everyone was drinking and having a good time. Nothing like it’s usually portrayed on sitcoms. Missed 25 due to family stuff and by 30 the crowd got small and not people I was close with. I’m done with them but enjoyed the first few
Lemonking_@reddit
I’ve never been. No interest or whatever.
drunkenknitter@reddit
Pass. I'm already in contact with the handful of people I hung out with in HS. That's good enough for me.
DeadManAle@reddit
No
Anonymo123@reddit
grad in 92.. never went to a reunion nor cared to.
I had a small group of friends but we didn't stay in touch and I honestly don't care what happened to anyone in my graduating class. There were a few people i was curious about in the past and looked them up on Facebook, that was good enough for me.
UKophile@reddit
Did you have friends and fun in HS? You’ll enjoy the event. Did you get bullied and ostracized in HS? You’ll hate it.
No_Consideration_339@reddit
I went to my 10th and 20th. Both were fun and I reconnected with folks I hadn't seen in a while. But now? I know and am in touch with almost everyone I want to stay in touch with. Although it might be nice to see someone IRL as opposed to the curated social media version.
DainasaurusRex@reddit
Nay. I live in the town I went to high school in (back 25 years after being gone 10) and know everyone I want to know. It’s not for me. If you’re curious, go ahead, though!
eventualguide0@reddit
Went to two of them. That's enough. I talk to people I'm interested in and don't give a fuck about the rest.
Bot_No_5@reddit
If you're interested. go.
Fight_Tyrnny@reddit
I went to my 10th and haven't been back since. These people had a facebook page for the class and even that page had no discussion on it, why go meet with people who cant even talk on Facebook???
"hello people who I havent even heard from for 35 years, you weren't friendly in high school and now... wow, Im seeing you 35 years later still sitting with your click"
I still have a few friends from high school that I hang out with 35 years later... I dont need to see these other people.
Standard-Cockroach64@reddit
Went to my last one (25th) with my wife (gf then) back in 2013. She noticed quickly that I looked about 20 years younger than all of them.
Bright_Broccoli1844@reddit
I went alone to my 20th and had a good time.
elphaba00@reddit
I had a small class of a little over 100 people. I've only been to my 20th because it was relatively close to my house. I made small talk with people and then realized that everyone else just wanted to stick with the groups they always had. I had the wonderful experience of talking to someone and him blowing his vape in my face. So I ducked out and got myself some dinner .... because apparently the $25 ticket I purchased did not go towards any food. So lots of alcohol + no food meant nothing good was going to happen.
I assume COVID killed off any plans for the 25th. This year is my 30th. I have not heard a thing, and I definitely have no interest.
Melodic_Caramel1777@reddit
For me, nay.
My 40th reunion will be in 2 years if there is one, not sure because I’ve never been to one. Zero interest in going. I keep up with the people who matter to me.
Uncle_Brewster@reddit
If there is one, my 35th will be summer of 2027. I went to the 25th, and had a pretty good time. For whatever reason, I didn't find the 30th all that great.
My parents still live in my home town. So, it is easy, and cheap, for me to go. If there is a 35th, I'm sure I'll go. My sister lives like 20 minutes from my home town. So, if I couldn't stay at my parent's, I'd stay with her.
kermitsfrogbog@reddit
I have never been to one. If all of my friends went, I'd go just to catch up with them. But I won't go otherwise.
I do belong to the group created for our class. The reunions tend to be small but nice. But if I went, I'd have no one to really hang out with. I don't hate anyone. They're just not my friends. It would be awkward. Just like high school! So... nah.
Firstcounselor@reddit
Fellow class of ‘91! Damn, just saying that brings such good memories.
I went to my 30th and I had a great time! Although I’m friends with most of these folks already on FB, seeing them in person just hits different. My biggest realization at my 30th is that I went to school with a lot of really cool, genuine, kind people.
mnreco@reddit
Facebook and Google Maps has shown me all I need to know.
GrandPriapus@reddit
My 40th should have been last year, and to be honest I don’t even know if it happened.
cugamer@reddit
The last day of highschool was one of the happiest days of my life. I can't imagine ever wanting to see any of those people again.
tanhauser_gates_@reddit
I was in NYC for 26 years before moving back to where I grew up. I was absent from all the reunions and yearly gatherings for longer than that.
After moving back I hooked up with my old class. I now have a regular troop of old high school classmates that I meet up with weekly. Social media has made it so easy to relink with old friend groups.
damutecebu@reddit
There should be a 40th next year. However I likely won't know if its going on because I deleted my Facebook account a couple of years ago and I assume that's where it will be advertised. I don't live in my hometown and don't keep up with any of my classmates so it will just be another day.
ubermonkey@reddit
I went for my 10th, which was conveniently during the dot-com boom, so I was able to do the most stereotypical nerd thing ever and show up in a Porsche. I mean, that's not the reason I went -- a couple other folks I liked were going -- but it was a nice bonus.
I haven't been since, and have no plans to return. I'm in regular touch with everyone from my class that I actually want to talk to, and that number is VERY VERY LOW (and they don't go, either). I live far away and no longer have any family in my hometown, which is also 90 miles from the nearest airport in a terrible state found at or near the bottom of any ranking you care to name.
KingPabloo@reddit
Whatever
ChessieChesapeake@reddit
I don’t regret missing some of my reunions, but I also ended up having a great time at the ones I went to.
dbrmn73@reddit
Didn't like most of those idiots then, why would I want to see them now?
Detroitdays@reddit
I went to all of mine and was genuinely happy to see and catch up with people.
Mr_Stike@reddit
I went to my 10th and 15th. I'm in fairly regular contact with/see folks that I was actually friends with back then. I flipped through a yearbook last year and was surprised at how many people I had no recollection of so I dumpstered them. 40th is a couple years off and I probably won't attend.
LeftRanger1924@reddit
Skipped my 10th, 20th and 30th. Never been to one and never going to go. I moved on from those people decades ago and I don’t feel the need to connect.
SkweegeeS@reddit
I haven't attended too many because of facebook, tbh. I might go to one someday but I live pretty far away. Social media has made me lazy.
Atlanta_Q_Ball@reddit
My class had a 10 year reunion. The folks I was interested in seeing and funding out what they were up to didn't attend.
I haven't heard anything about a reunion or from anyone in my class since then.
Affectionate-Map2583@reddit
Same. My class dropped the ball on reunions after our 10th. My 40th would be this year. If they actually had one, I wouldn't particularly want to go.
BeaPositiveToo@reddit
Nah. It’s not gonna be that fun.
AZPeakBagger@reddit
My class just had their 40th. Attended a blue collar high school in the Midwest and our class has a fairly active Facebook group, so I get to see all the pictures. The past three reunions have been the same 40-ish people that still live within a 60 minute radius of my high school and never left the area. Mostly the jocks & cheerleaders with a few theater kids represented. It was not enough of a draw for me to fly back 2000 miles to attend.
The only reason I could possibly think of was listening to a podcast and the host had just come back from his 50th reunion. What struck him was who wasn't there but had been at the 40th. Once his high school class turned 60 years old, a decent percentage of them passed before they turned 68.
Open_Appointment1091@reddit
Just skipped out 40th. People I cared to see are dead.
FzzyCatz@reddit
I had a chat with a high school friend about reunions. We concluded that we keep in touch with who we would want to see or know someone who knows a particular person. No need to make small talk with anyone else.
BuckyD1000@reddit
I can't imagine attending one of those things. It seems so uninteresting to me. But I had a huge graduating class, so the vast majority of attendees would be complete strangers. I can see the appeal for folks who went to small schools where everyone knew everyone else.
A couple social media acquaintances from back then who became relatively successful go all the time to flaunt their success. I find this depressingly lame. How empty is your life if you need validation from classmates you last saw 30-40 years ago?
On the flip side, my 86 year old dad has never missed a reunion. He's bound & determined to make it to his 70th in a couple years. I think there's five of them left, so it's more of a "sit around a table discussing physical ailments and how much better things used to be" deal. But he digs it.
EmbarrassedAge7612@reddit
We had a handful of people show up for our 30th. None of us liked each other back then so no one had much to say. They canceled our 35th due to nobody being interested. I think social media has definitely ended the need for reunions.
patbagger@reddit
Go and measure up
jfrankparnell85@reddit
I agree with Ty here
https://youtu.be/g2FGRVRzXZM?si=6GslhR057h0XYPb_
Lost_Taste_8181@reddit
Well over 99% of the people I graduated with in ‘95 have been out of my life WAY longer than they were in it. I wish them all the best but don’t feel the need for a reunion
skeeterbmark@reddit
I’ve been to a few. A couple were great, most were not. It’s all about who shows up. It was nothing like you’re worried about, though. The bad ones were just sparsely attended and boring.
DetroitXL@reddit
I was a victim of attending one of my high school reunions as it was happening in the room next to the room of my sister’s wedding dinner/party at the same banquet hall. Only found out about it when I was walking up to the hall and my mom pointed it out. That sucked as I told myself I would never attend one after I graduated. Haven’t been to one since.
Timely-Tourist4109@reddit
I never went to mine.
harrismi7@reddit
It’s 35 years this year and no one is planning anything that I know of. I’ve gone to reunions in the past but I think I’m done. Keeping in touch with a few folks on Facebook is good enough for me. I wasn’t really close with my classmates back then anyway.
Shawn91111@reddit
I didn't care about most of the people I went to high school with, certainly don't care about them now.
SameDimension1204@reddit
Don’t feel the need. I am already in touch with the people I like and don’t care for the rest
local_weather@reddit
I went to my 10 and 20. They were fun but once I got on facebook with all of these people I realized how much I didn't like them. Seeing them that one night was great but finding out all about their lives and idiotic beliefs made me not want to go back. After 2016 when so many of them really showed their true colors I left facebook and haven't been back to any of the reunions.
Historical_Project86@reddit
I'd probably go to a reunion, but only because we either don't have them or I've never been invited. 😄
SarahJaneB17@reddit
It depends. It's better if people you know are going too, but it will probably be more fun than what you may anticipate. I had fun the one time I went. A lot of time has passed and people had definitely matured. The best part was seeing some people I spent a lot of time having in my friend group but I hadn't kept in touch with. I reconnected with a couple of them and have maintained that.
slade797@reddit
*yea
Cigarrauuul@reddit
Been two years ago. Was fun.
Ray_The_Engineer@reddit
I went to my reunion at 10 and 20 yrs, stopped after that. I keep up with my one really great HS friend, we still see each other and go camping together, etc. The rest of those folks, well, seeing them on Fbook is enough, and some of them I'm fine never seeing again.
I went with my wife to a couple of hers; she had a snobby, cliquey "Mean Girl" situation in her class, and all of those girls were still in a corner, pointing and whispering at other people. I told her she was on her own for future occasions lol.
TheNolaCatLady@reddit
I've been out of high school for 36 years and not once have I entertained going to a reunion. High school wasn't an enjoyable period of my life, so I have never had any desire to reminisce about it.
hippiestitcher@reddit
This. My graduating class was huge, and I didn't even know 90% of them. The few close friends I did have are like me and wouldn't have any desire to go.
TheNolaCatLady@reddit
My class was small and we all knew one another. After graduation, I went off and did my own thing without keeping in touch with anyone. Around 20 - 25 years later, some high school people added me on FB. Some small talk was made, but I never met up with any of them.
im_on_the_case@reddit
I've gone to all of mine and honestly each one is better than the last. The lunatics gradually mellowed out, people i never liked became likable, friends i forgot about became friends again.
One of my brothers resented school and those he attended it with, he got cornered into going to his 40th and had a great time.
I guess it gave him some closure on what he perceived to be a shit period of his life and subsequently became pretty close with some of those classmates he avoided all those decades.
Of course everyone is different and situations vary but there's very little to lose by going to these things.
ultimate94champ@reddit
Life is short. Show up, have fun, talk to everyone. I have skipped all mine so far, but I will make the next one. Be nice, and be interesting. Also be INTERESTED, see what boring lives those fools have been living.
Deer-in-Motion@reddit
I have no reason to see any of those people ever again.
Andovars_Ghost@reddit
Never went to a single one. Didn’t like most of them then, and I’m fairly certain I’d like them even less now.
GarionOrb@reddit
I only went to my 10-year and I had a fantastic time. No one was "measuring" anything, and it was nothing like the stereotypes you hear about. I wasn't even the popular kid in high school and still had a great time with everyone. I wasn't made aware of my 20-year and couldn't attend the 30-year, or I would've gone to them all.