Kelly and I went to our 20-year high school this weekend for the Herndon High School Class of 1987. It was held at the Reston Sheraton and put on by GreatReunions.com, with assistance from two classmates, Evan MacKenzie and Elyssa Brecher.
Evan and Elyssa worked hard to put things together but it seems to me that GreatReunions did not. There was a long line to get in, there were too few tables for the crowd, the DJ’s speakers were down at everyone’s knees, and no one could hear the announcements Evan and Elyssa had to make. Our $100/ticket bought us a plate full of hotel food and an overpriced cash bar.
But I don’t want you to think it was all negative, and its natural for people to bitch when the tickets cost so much. Its certainly nothing against Evan or Elyssa – just GreatReunions.
Anyhow, I saw my friends Evan and Jamie, and met some new friends I’d only seen in the high school hallways, like Jenny Au. Evan I’d seen two years ago in Italy. Jamie I’d conversed with through email a few times leading up to the reunion. Kelly has a slew of friends she’s kept up with and we visited with them on Saturday afternoon before the official party.
Saturday morning Evan had arranged a tour of his old elementary school, Lake Anne Elementary. He and whatever former classmates he could find walked through the halls of their old school, recalling events and teachers associated with each room. Even though I never went there it was fun to hear what it was like.
Afterward we walked down to Lake Anne to have lunch on the patio. It took forever to serve us (a party of 8) but the food was good when it finally arrived. We then went to Kelly’s friend Emmy’s house afterward and snacked and visited for the hours leading up to the dinner.
There were lots of people there that I remembered from high school and lots that I knew who weren’t there. I was quite a loner at the start of high school and took a while to make friends, though Evan was among the first I’d made. I think Kelly got more out of it, since she knew some of these people from the age of 5.
Its good to stop every now and then and assess where you are in life. High school reunions give you a chance to do that. I was happy to see many of my classmates are doing well and are apparently happy. I was also glad to know that I’m not burdened by anyone else’s expectations anymore. There is zero peer pressure.
I wish my classmates well and look forward to checking in again in another ten years.