After my friend Mitchell Franseth invited me a few months back, I decided to attend the South Meck High School Class of 1987 reunion later this month. I left South Meck near the end of my junior year to move to Great Falls, VA, so I’m not officially a part of the class of 1987. Even so, I spent more time at South than I did at my last high school, Herndon High School in Herndon, VA.
My time at South Meck was a challenging one. I was a poor student, feeling hopelessly and embarrassingly lost in my math classes (due to my laziness coupled with my frequently-interrupted educational experience, I think). I was a geek before geeks ruled the world. The closest friends I had moved away before I did. My best friend attended a different school. It was also the first time that my older sister, Suzanne, didn’t attend a school before me, which I think tended to help me know what to expect. Charlotte in those days wasn’t as accepting of newcomers as it is today – certainly not as welcoming as the Northern Virginia suburbs where I’d soon live. I found it challenging at South to find my identity.
Still, it was also a remarkable time. Having little success being whom others wanted me to be, I began instead to get comfortable with whom I am. Doors began to open that I never knew existed and I began to see the world in a profoundly different light. That was largely a solo journey, though. Very few of my friends had any idea.
What do I expect from this reunion visit? Not much. I’m certainly not the same person I used to be and I know my former classmates aren’t either. I’ve got nothing to prove to anybody. All told, I think it will be worthwhile to revisit this time of my life, if only to take stock of where I was and where I am today. It may turn out to be another solo journey but this time around I’ve learned to be comfortable with that.