10 Year Class Reunion

Wow...I can't believe that this school year marks 10 years since I was a senior in high school. These last 10 years have flown by. In 10 years, I've met new people, graduated from college, learned some difficult life lessons, and figured out who I am as an individual.

When I first thought about it, the idea of a class reunion seemed really stupid to me. All I could think was "I haven't talked to or seen most of these people in 10 years, why do I want to pay to see them now?" I was not going to go to this little social event because I didn't want to feel "awkward." Well, change of plans. Some of us got an email last year about this time, asking if we wanted to be on the Reunion Committee to help plan this thing. As I read the email, a sudden feeling of guilt came over me. I felt guilty because I had been so negative toward the idea in the beginning, but now I'm being asked to be a part of the planning? How could I possibly say yes to this?  Well, I guess that feeling of guilt became so strong that I caved and said YES!

After meeting for the first time back in February of this year to start the planning process, I realized that a tiny piece of me missed high school. What should have been a meeting that lasted an hour, turned into a 3 hour meeting that was a little bit of planning and a whole lot of laughing about our years at South Florence High School. The people on this committee still live around here for the most part, so I see them every now and then. It's usually just a "hey, how are you" kind of conversation, but for the first time in 10 years, I felt connected to these people again.

We may not have been best friends in high school, but at some point, we all had classes together. We all remember the same people and the same teachers and administrators that made us laugh for all the same reasons. For the first time, I was really excited about my 10 year class reunion.

Facebook has really changed how things work...people used to get really excited about going to reunions because they wanted to see people and see what they were up to. Well, Facebook pretty much does that for us on a daily basis now. I know who got fat (yes, I'm one of them), I know who got married, who has kids, whose kids are potty training and more personal information about most of these people than I would ever care to know. A lot of people are claiming because they see these things on Facebook that they don't need to see their classmates in person...that's a load of crap. Just sayin. The laughter and the memories shared between all of us is totally different in person and SOOOO much fun.

The Committee is really working hard to make this a great reunion. If I remember correctly, the class of 2004 at South Florence was the most spirited class that South Florence had seen in quite a while. We used to beat the seniors for the spirit stick, we drove tractors to school for homecoming week and we decorated and bought some of the coolest t-shirts for pep rallies. And who could forget the prom we planned?

The lack of participation from our class is really disturbing to me. What happened to the spirit our class had? Sure, some of yall have gotten married, had kids, been divorced, married again and have another kid, most of us have jobs that keep us busy and some of us are continuing our education to reach our goals but one Saturday evening in February isn't that much to ask of anyone. Maybe the price is deterring some people from buying tickets. The ticket price for 2 people is $50 this month. That includes tea, water, lemonade, food (including a vegetarian option) and 2 drink tickets. So for $25 a person, you're getting all of that food, plus a nice venue, a GOOD DJ and door prizes. That's the same price you would pay for a dinner out with a friend or significant other.

I've heard that some people are offended by the fact that we will have alcohol. I understand that a lot of people don't drink, but honestly we are all 27, 28 years old. We are legally able to drink alcohol and for the most part, those of us that do drink, do it in a social, responsible manner. We are past our "OMG I can drink, let's see how drunk I can get" stage. Shoot, I don't know about some people, but I can speak for several people that this day in age, after 2 drinks and some social interaction with friends, I'm ready to go to bed...I'm getting OLD. We all go to restaurants and have dinner plenty of times surrounded by people who are socially having dinner and drinks. What's the difference now? NOTHING...the only difference is that this time you're surrounded by your high school classmates. We're all mature adults here. Not to mention, we will have regular drinks as well like water, tea and lemonade.

I've heard a rumor that the price of the tickets is back to "Early Bird Prices" for the month of October in celebration of Homecoming. Those of you that keep saying, "I'm going to buy it, I just keep forgetting"...this is your chance! Buy your ticket now at a great price and come hang out with us in February. I've seen the list of people who have paid for their tickets. It's a fun group of people. There will not be a dull moment. That's for sure.

Hope to see all of your senior pictures show up on Facebook within the next few weeks saying that you've paid :)