Hey everyone!
I was speaking to one of my best friends a few months ago (who shall remain nameless), and we started talking about the reunion. To my surprise, she mentioned to me that she didn't really want to go. I was kind of in shock, because she was (in my humble opinion) an important part of our class. I thought that out of everyone she would be the most excited to come to the reunion and catch up. She told me that her lack of desire was because she really didn't feel accomplished. That she hadn't reached all of the goals that she wanted for herself in high school and didn't feel as if she could face our whole class.
It got me thinking that she can't be the only one that feels this way, so I'm going to tell you what I told her. We all had these great aspirations when we graduated high school, we thought we were going to go out there and concur the world. And what happened? Life happened, to all of us. We all had goals that we wanted to have accomplished by now that haven't come to fruition yet. We have all had things happen in our lives that have set us back, or changed our course, and we have also had some of the most wonderful surprises happen to us as well. This reunion is a great opportunity to remember who we were, but even more so to celebrate who we are now and who we have become! So what if you haven't accomplished everything you wanted to by now, who cares? None of us have! And what if you've gotten a divorce, lost a job, are having infertility issues, baby mama/daddy drama, or lost a close friend or family member? There will be, without a doubt, someone else at the reunion who has or is going through the same thing.
I know that for myself, these last ten years have been much more painful than I could have ever imagined, but it was my group of friends (and husband) from this class, our class, who lifted me up. Our class was and is so much more than a class. We really were, and still are, a family. So I implore you to come to the reunion and have fun. You may discover that you have more in common now with some members of our class than you did back in high school.
Also, lots of people think that they don't need to come to a reunion because they can stalk everyone on Facebook to catch up. WRONG! Can you remember a post you wrote a year ago? What about five years ago? I'll bet you can't. Why? Because Facebook isn't real. Its not a visceral experience. You can't reach out and hug the people in your Facebook feed. You can at the reunion, as you can also dance, and laugh, and drink, and have a great time with them. You can make an actual memory.
WARNING: THIS GETS PERSONAL AND VERY REAL
I only bring this up because I know from experience that Facebook does not replace human interaction. Do not take your friendships for granted. Do not assume because you are on Facebook you can catch up whenever you want to. That is also not how life (or death) works. After my brother died, a childhood friend of mine reached out to me on Facebook. She was my first friend ever. She wanted to meet up the next time she was in port (she was a cook on the HMS Bounty). I missed her dearly, but I was not ready to reach back as I wasn't in a good place emotionally. I thought that, thanks to Facebook, I could just reach back when I was ready. About a year later I was thinking about her, and decided that I was ready to catch up and see where she was. I went to her page and was looking through her pictures when I realized that she had died a few months back in an accident. I was beside myself in grief and guilt. Don't make the same assumption that I did. Don't assume Facebook will give us the power to maintain friendships. Only we have that power; Facebook is but a tool to help us. Life is short and unpredictable. Have as much fun with your friends as you can. Come to the reunion and make some good memories. Before you know it we will be planning our 20th reunion and I can tell you now, all of us might not be alive to make it.
Sorry it got so real. I just really wanted to put this all into perspective for you, and explain why this matters so much to me. I'd love to hear your comments on the subject. Why are you going or not going? What are you most excited or apprehensive about? Personally, I wish we would have made it a halloween themed party and just let everyone dress up in costumes. I think that would have been AWESOME!! Let me know if you would be down for that too! I still might do it anyways.
Hope to see you all there!
Erica Munz (Murburg)
No comments:
Post a Comment