Reflections on my Reunion
Went to my 10 year reunion this weekend. My Quad friends bought me a ticket behind my back so I was forced to go against my will. To be honest, while I joke about how I was forced to go, I’m also incredibly touched that I have friends who care enough about me being there with them to force my hand.
My salient thought throughout the night was that we really were all growed up. Despite having lived on my own for the last decade and having been a lawyer for the last two years, more often than not, I don’t feel like a real, actual adult. But looking around at my old classmates and recognizing that they were adults – married, divorced, moms, dads, homeowners – made me realize that I was one too (although I was neither married, divorced, a mom nor a homeowner). Going to graduate school really delayed the onset of adulthood for me, but sooner or later I guess I had to come to grips with it. And I think I’m okay with it. Mostly.
It was incredible seeing everyone out of their high school shells. I don’t think I fully realized what a weird, awkward and painful experience adolescence was until last night, when I saw the real people who inhibited those shells. It was a chance to give depth and substance to some of the background people in my life. I was surprised at how many people didn’t enjoy high school and how many people felt they were misunderstood. It’s a common story, played out in hundreds of ways in books, movies, and television shows, but to face that fact oneself is still somehow shocking. I didn’t hate high school, but I also didn’t feel like I really came into myself until late in college. I’m comfortable with who I am now and like who I’ve become. I just didn’t realize how different the me I am now is from the me who was until last night – when the upteenth person commented on it.
My core values and beliefs haven’t changed. I still tend towards dry, sarcastic humor. I’m still left-leaning. I still love learning and reading. I think I’m just more comfortable expressing all that now. I guess I didn’t realize the shape my shell took until last night. I didn’t hate high school, but I am profoundly glad that it’s behind me.
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