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My 5 year reunion is next year. I graduated high school 2009. I didn't enjoy high school due that i was different from rest of my peers. I made good grades in school, but i didn't have anything in common with the students. I was wondering what goes on at a class reunion. I'm on the border line of not going.
You spend money.
You're a little nervous.
People drink
People try to lose 20 pounds in the month prior to the reunion.
Image non-virtual Facebook: Some people want to put on their best face.
I went to my 20th but I missed my 30th due to living out of state.
If you go to your 5yr reunion everyone will still be in the same "click" from High School, people just hang out in the same groups. No one has changed that much. My High School had a 10yr and everyone still hung out in "click" and was still trying to impress everyone else. By your 20yr , you quit caring what everyone else thinks so people tend to mingle with everyone.
Most have the stupid , who has changed the most, who has the most kids, yadda yadda contests.......
If you didn't enjoy High School, I say save the $$$$ and skip it , maybe in 15yrs when everyone has mellowed and don't care about "Bitsie" and everyone popular then go
My 5 year reunion is next year. I graduated high school 2009. I didn't enjoy high school due that i was different from rest of my peers. I made good grades in school, but i didn't have anything in common with the students. I was wondering what goes on at a class reunion. I'm on the border line of not going.
Heyyy we'd be in the same boat! But i don't care much to go to mine. I feel like a new woman with different focus. I still talk to the people I cared about in HS so everyone else is kind of irrelevant at this point. It's only been 5 years.
Five years is really early to have a class reunion.
In my experience, reunions get better with time, as others have reported. By the time you reach the twentieth, people pretty much know who they are and are generally okay with themselves (though of course everyone wants and tries to present his or her best self), and are more focussed on learning who their classmates have become. After that, classmates generally are just glad to reconnect with others who shared their formative years and the memories of those distant days.
There are usually a number of surprises at twentieth-plus class reunions -ugly ducklings have become swans, golden boys are, well, tarnished, the shy become outgoing, the geeks become smooth, the cheerleaders carry pounds instead of pompons, and while old friendships are often renewed, warm friendships can form from what was once simply acquaintance, as growth into common ground and connection is discovered. I know of at least two romances resulting in marriage which got started at class reunions - the parties knew one another previously, but didn't really click way back when.
So - go if you would like to catch up with old friends, have a good time, but if you go and don't have such a great time, don't write off class reunions entirely. They get better as classmates mature. Much better.
Five years is really early to have a class reunion.
In my experience, reunions get better with time, as others have reported. By the time you reach the twentieth, people pretty much know who they are and are generally okay with themselves (though of course everyone wants and tries to present his or her best self), and are more focussed on learning who their classmates have become. After that, classmates generally are just glad to reconnect with others who shared their formative years and the memories of those distant days.
There are usually a number of surprises at twentieth-plus class reunions -ugly ducklings have become swans, golden boys are, well, tarnished, the shy become outgoing, the geeks become smooth, the cheerleaders carry pounds instead of pompons, and while old friendships are often renewed, warm friendships can form from what was once simply acquaintance, as growth into common ground and connection is discovered. I know of at least two romances resulting in marriage which got started at class reunions - the parties knew one another previously, but didn't really click way back when.
So - go if you would like to catch up with old friends, have a good time, but if you go and don't have such a great time, don't write off class reunions entirely. They get better as classmates mature. Much better.
Oh, wow, I totally glossed over the 5 year part.
Sounds like someone in your class is VERY excited to be on the party planning committee, OP!
I agree that waiting at least till the 10-year may be more interesting.
The more years it's been the more fun you will have. I have enjoyed every one of mine. A 5 year reunion isn't a big deal. No one has really changed. When you pass 30th year and some look like the grandparents they are and others still look about the same, it gets interesting. My 40th is coming up.
As for what goes on at a class reunion, expect to hear the musical hits of your high school days. There may be displays of high school memorabilia - far more interesting at later reunions, as after all, a five-year-old letter sweater or your old history book isn't too novel or nostalgic. A class reunion group photograph may be taken - make sure the names are also taken, so everyone will know who's who in the picture.
People generally dress nicely for the dinner event - suits and ties for men, dressy dresses for women. Some classes have a picnic (catered or potluck) prior to or the day after the main event reunion banquet- this is far more informal. Sometimes a tour of the old school is included, which can be fun. Some classes have arranged for tours of historic sites associated with the school (as in, Famous Person High School class visits nearby museum home of Famous Person). Some reunions include a farewell brunch the morning after the main-event/banquet.
Reunion banquets/dinner-dances are often held at conventiion hotels or smaller convention centers. There's usually a cocktail hour, followed by a catered sit-down dinner (usually called a banquet, but it's usually just a nice dinner), with reminiscing speeches by class officers or other class leaders. Any teachers present are recognized and applauded. There is often a moment of silence to commemorate any classmates who have passed away. There will be a few jokes, loosely connected to high school experiences. Someone may sing your class song and everyone is encouraged to sing along. Few will remember all the lyrics.
There will be the usual "competitions": most changed, least changed (in my class, this eventually became the one who has changed most frequently), most children, youngest child (oldest child got dropped due to babies whose eminent arrival resulted in shotgun weddings way back when), eventually, oldest grandchild, and so on. Usually prizes are rather silly - a baby bottle or bib for the classmate with the youngest child, etc). At my last reunion, a high school trivia game with each dinner table competing was popular - the losers got a bottle of gingko biloba.
Eventually, dinner will be cleared away and it's time for dancing and catching up with other classmates- the latter has been far more popular with my class at recent reunions.
Sometimes the reunion organizers also create a CD or a booklet with biographical information or at least contact info for each classmate who responded, whether they attended the reunion or not. Such things make nice souvenirs, and it's interesting to see how various people describe themselves and their lives.
If you go, I'd encourage you to sit with someone you know but whom you haven't seen for a while, rather than joining the classmates you see regularly. Make the rounds and find out what everyone is doing, if they are still pretty much the same or have changed, what their plans are, and so on. Share your info., too. If you hang out with your usual companions, you'll miss a lot.
If you're on the organizing committee, it's fun and eye-opening to have a follow-up meeting to discuss what did and didn't go well at the reunion, so you'll know how to make the next one even better.
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