High school reunions and things that scar you for life.

Our 40-year was this weekend, and I skipped it as usual. I went to the 10 and the 20, but it just felt weird seeing those folks again and having to leave after a few hours, so I skipped the 30, and now the 40. I wasn't exactly a social butterfly in school, and there were only a few people I considered close friends. Only a couple of them show for the reunions. Including one I just plain can't stand seeing. To whit:

Expanding on the "not a social butterfly" thing, I had no idea how to deal with girls. Awkward, shy, geeky, the whole shebang. I managed the surrogate brother/friends thing fine, but my media-driven ideal of being James Bond or Captain Kirk eluded me. So when I finally GOT a girlfriend, it was rather monumental to me.

And there was Jeff, my best friend since 6th grade. Goofy bastard. Made even me feel swayve and de-boner.

So one night in senior year we're at a party with some of our geeky friends, and Jeff and my girlfriend disappear. For an hour. I was so naive at the time, it had to be explained to me in detail. Well, being an idealistic teenager in the 1970s, I figure forgive and forget. She wasn't much of a girlfriend, obviously, and Jeff was my best friend. School ended, Jeff went into the army, Kathy and I broke up after a year that was mostly hellish (I had the old "but what if I can't find anyone else?" syndrome, which Mary thankfully broke in art school).

Anyway, as the years went on, the memory of that night at the party only resurfaced around HS reunion time. It got to where whenever I saw Jeff, I just wanted to get the fuck away from him. I have a problem with confrontation, so I just avoid. So when the 40-year came up, I automatically decided not to go, mainly to avoid Jeff. Unfortunately, he doesn't know how I feel, and I don't want to talk to him long enough to tell him, so he still thinks we're old buddies.

The problem this time is Facebook. Over the last few years, a lot of my HS classmates showed up there, and we've renewed old connections, and made lots of new connections. The cliques of the teens are gone, and we're all just people now. I'm on FB with chatting with girls I was scared to talk to 40 years ago, guys who were jocks or stoners then are damn nice guys now, and one or two people I was actually really close to who I miss dearly. So I skipped the reunion, and 20 people asked where the hell I was. Girls who wouldn't look at me then said they were looking for me at the party. Pictures of the party are all over FB and damn, that looked like fun. And damn, even at 58, Corinne (a majorette I had the hots for) looked sensational. Now I feel pretty fucking stupid for skipping it, just so I didn't have to confront one asshole.

Oh well - life is a series of lessons learned. I'll beat myself up over it for a few weeks, then it will fade into the background hum of my life.

So - reunion stories? Scarred for life stories? Beuler?

And remember this is not the red room!

My class was supposed to have a 30th reunion this year, but it was cancelled due to lack of interest. Too few people committed to go and, because of that, there wasn't enough money to rent the community center in my home town to host the gathering.

I was looking forward to it because I literally haven't seen most of my classmates since 1985.

Apparently there was a 20th anniversary reunion ten years ago, but I never received an invitation. This in spite of the fact that I live only an hour away, both of my parents still live in my home town (and they could've "gotten the word to me"), and I work at a fairly high profile job.

I never dated any of the girls in my graduating class, though I really wanted to, and I was hoping to see some of them. Given that they all live pretty humdrum lives, it would've been nice to show them what they missed out on.

I purposefully avoided the 5 and 10, but did want to go to the 20 -- Facebook had gotten me back in touch with some people, and I decided I no longer hated them all. Scheduling issues prevented a trip to California at that time, but I'm interested in going to my 30th, which is still a few years away.

Also, @Forbin, if this Corinne is so hot, why don't we see any pictures of her?

I dunno, would you think she was hot at 58 if you didn't have the image of the dazzling 16-year-old blond to overlay in your head?

She's the one in blue. 40 years ago, long blond hair, green eyes, knockout figure. Men have died for less.

They all look pretty good to me, but yeah, I'm sure knowing the progression is part of what makes her stand out more to you than perhaps some other women might. Now imagine yourself centered in that picture!

Just went to my 50th. It was great!!!
Everybody was friendly.
The girls looked fantastic.

Really had a great time.

Piedmont High, Piedmont California, Class of 1965!

The cute one standing at the far right? Looks exactly like she did in HS. Amazing.
The crazy-looking brunette sitting? Is. At the 20-year, she told me she had the hots for me back in schooland tried to get me to her room (drunk off her ass). The second she saw the wedding ring, she said OMG, turned to another guy and told him she had the hots for him back in school. Desperate much?

Never heard so much as a peep from my class about any reunions. Wouldn't go anyway, cuz I pretty much despise most of those people. There's three or four I've friended on Facebook and that's the extent of my involvement.

White people......
Not red room shenanigans, just trying to fill in for Mewa, because you know he would have said this.

I've always refused going to school reunions (there was another one just last month). Most of the people I went to school were utter douches. For instance, one ho recently befriended me on Facebook as grow up to be a BNP nutjob.

One area of my life I am happy to leave behind.

Yeah, no. Was out at sea for the 10 year reunion last year, which from the high school buddies that were more social than I was I heard it was far overpriced for the venue. I barely even liked my friends and I burned a lot of bridges when I had that obsessive crush junior year.

Like Chup, I'm more than glad to leave that part of my past in the past.

You people just don't know how hellish my HS years were. The worst four years of my life hands-down in the fifty-three years I've been alive.

Skipped my 5-year reunion because really hardly anyone had changed by then aside from attending college and a handful who'd gotten married and maybe a few who had very little kids.

Went to the 10-, 20-, and 25-year reunions, and generally had fun. Especially the 20+ ones, where everybody was pretty chill and real. But I skipped the 30-year, and will likely skip the 35-year (due in 2016)...the population of people that I really care to see is dwindling, and I really don't care if I go anymore.

Assuming I'm alive for the 50-year, I'll probably go to that one. It seems to be a big deal for many senior citizens.

Went to the ten year reunion, most of the people were still the same shits that they were ten years earlier. Wound up friending a good number of them on Facebook 5-6 years later. Still don't care for most of them, suspended my Facebook account well over a year ago. Still in contact with just one ne of them, we never really talked in school. I did have a crush on her back then, we've become pretty good friends in the last 2-3 years.

Didn't bother with the twenty year reunion, not going to bother with the twenty five year one if there is one. Out of over 350 people in my graduating class, maybe thirty or so bothered to go to the twenty year one. There were close to a hundred or so at the ten year reunion.

My tenth was fun. Neither of my two best friends in my class made it, so I ended up hanging out with people I knew and liked just fine, but never really spent time with in high school. It made me not regret going outside of my clique more, because there are a lot of cool people I didn't end up spending time getting to know as a result.

I dropped out of high school to get my GED when I was legally able to, then started college. So, I never got a high school reunion invitation. Last year, tho, facebook friends from elementary and junior high school had an informal reunion and invited me. I intended to go, but at the last minute didn't. One friend was not going to go, but at my insistence (before life happened) changed her mind. She called me later to tell me how glad she was that she went. All the people who made her life hell throughout school had shitty lives, while hers was wonderful.

It reminded me of this PSA:

The thing with me in high school is that I never really hung out with my own classmates. 9th-11th grades I hung out with older kids and when I was a Senior, I mostly hung out with younger kids.

I never really had anything in common with the kids who were my own age.

^Some of that. One of my best "little sister" friends was a year behind me. I'd love to see her again. And the only girl from my school I did manage to get a date with was in that class too.

Sounds like you were a lot like me at that time, Forbin. So reunions? Hell no. And I won't miss them, either. No girlfriends till college, so I never had anything like that happen. But I wouldn't miss my classmates if I saw them explode in a burning building. If I knew who they were - I spent the last 3 years in the same class, and come graduation, there were still 10-15 people I couldn't even name.. so I decided to spend graduation behind a camera, taking photos of how other kids had fun.

Had to go find Corinne's pics in the yearbook.

I've went to a couple of my reunions. Except for me, everyone else had bad hair, bad teeth and had gained a vast amount of weight.

The guys were even worse.........

Professional educator?

Um, in your pictures you're fat and balding......

Not to most people. Perhaps slightly overweight. Certainly not balding by any measure. Yet anyway.

I tend to post how people talk in this region El Chup. Not perfect English.

Definitely a receding hairline!

Definitely a receding hairline!

Definitely a receding hairline!

People really talk that badly?

Aren't you supposed to talk properly as a teacher, irrespective of local colloquialisms?

Judging by Facebook photos, the majority of my high school classmates have aged rather badly. I'm no prize pig myself, but some of them look freakin' old. Much older than their actual age.

My first-ever crush looks at least ten years older than she really is. My sister lives down the block from her and her husband, though, and tells me that they spend most evenings on their back patio drinking Keystone beer and smoking.

And fat, really fat.

Warned.

Everyone needs to remember which room this is.