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October 25, 2008
I Am Feeling Quite Nostalgic, And Very Old At The Same Time...
...and that's because today, my classmates are gathering at our 20 year High School Reunion.
Without me.
Truth be told, I never really liked high school. I was bad at it when I went, and I truly don't know how I graduated. I more or less (more) slid through, somehow gaining that little piece of paper that has gotten me to this point in my life. (Well, the little paper didn't do much, but I guess it didn't hurt either.)
High school wasn't a lot of fun for me. I wasn't in any of the "in crowds", wasn't popular, didn't dress well, didn't have a lot of money, and so lacking those things made me, well, somewhat invisible to most. (I did, however, have a locker in a primo spot, so at least I had that going for me.)
I went to a very exclusive high school, in an extremely wealthy suburb not far from New York City. A lot of the kids I went to high school with drove BMW's, Mercedes, Land Rovers and the like. I rode the bus during my elementary school and junior high school days (not the short bus, thank goodness) but had to walk to high school, since the district determined that we lived too close to take the bus, but too far to walk. Dumb school district.
During those days, I remember feeling that a lot of my classmates were always given things, and didn't really have to work for very much. Some of them I found to be stuck up, self involved and rather elitist. (Yes, I am jealous, but at least not stuck up or self involved. Am I?) And that's probably due to the fact that I was somewhat invisible.
That was then.
Now, as my classmates gather since we graduated 20 years ago, I find myself wanting to return to the hallowed halls of my high school, to relive that which I once hated. I know. It's weird. I can't explain it either, not to you or to my wife, who really doesn't understand. In fact, I am not sure that I really understand.
And so, enter Facebook.com. The social networking site has reconnected me with many, many people from my past whom, for one reason or another, I lost touch with. College friends, work friends, even elementary school friends. Many of them who I have re-connected with through Facebook. Looking at them now, with kids, and jobs and lives, made me think how stupid and childish high school is (and was) and that now that we are all grown up, how neat it would be to catch up. And that's because, it seems, most of the people I have reconnected with, have really worked hard to get where they have gotten. Some are lawyers, some are EMT's, and some are teachers. But what I saw in high school wasn't real. I saw it then as privileged kids saying, buying and doing anything they wanted to. I never figured that a lot of these kids would amount to much, except being rich, because they didn't have to work to get anything.
That is where I will give my high school some credit. On the first day of Freshman year, I found out exactly what I wanted to do with the rest of my life: Be a journalist. I fell in love with television broadcasting, and worked hard at becoming better at my profession every day. My profession has changed now, but I believe we are all products of our past, and without my high school experience, I would never be where I am today, whether that experience was positive or negative.
So as I reflect on the last 20 years, I am sad to say that I will not be able to join these people as they remember, look back, and look forward. I can do all of those things without going to a reunion, and through my Facebook contacts, but it just isn't the same. (Megan, the boys and I will be in Virginia, celebrating her step-brother's wedding.)
Also, as I think about my reunion, I am missing a dear friend who passed away several years ago. Marty was a kind person, a child at heart, and someone who was taken from us way too early. He and my friend Jon got me through high school, and they are the reason I have gotten over that negative four-year experience. We laughed each and every day, we visited each other at our colleges, and we formed a bond that cannot be broken, no matter what time, geography or whatever else is thrown at us.
I graduated on June 24th, 1988. It was a Friday. Our prom was the next night. Jon, Marty and I all went to the prom together with our dates. As I remember, it was a great weekend.
And despite my not liking high school or a lot of the people I went to school with, it is the good times I will remember, and the effect my time in high school has had on me.
This was our prom song, "We Said Hello Goodbye", from Phil Collins.
See you tomorrow...
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Posted by Jon at October 25, 2008 06:06 AM