New Lessons from High School
Hard to believe that the public school year opened here yesterday, especially when we’re still inside the blast furnace that is August. I remember sweating through those first days. It was pretty brutal.
My own high school reunion happened just this past weekend, which made me wonder what the children returning to class will be learning, and what they’ll need to figure out on their own after they graduate.
As grown-ups, we know it’s impossible to escape high school as fully-formed adults. There are too many new lessons to be learned as years go by. Matter of fact, I caught up with a few new ones at the reunion.
If you plan to attend such a gathering, it’s common to question whether or not you have measured up to expectations. Maybe we feel we haven’t aged well, or weren’t successful enough, or didn’t meet our own hopes in some other way. Mercifully, most of my classmates at the party seemed to overcome those useless notions and decided to be there just for the fun of it.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Right off the bat, I ran into a couple of people I’d long remembered for having been cruel to me. The first was the grown-up version of a girl who had very publicly humiliated me my freshman year.
We managed to have a cordial conversation, but as I walked away, I couldn’t help noting that she would make a good villain in a mystery some day.
Come to think of it, that long-ago betrayal may have fed my subconscious as I created E.B. Odom, the villain in The Body Business. So, here’s a thank-you to her!
Also at the party was a person who, in elementary school, had a nasty habit of kicking my shins until they bled.
I remembered him as a little devil. But at the reunion, he went out of his way to talk to me, and spoke so kindly about my mother that I instantly changed my opinion. As mystery readers know, sometimes an apparent villain in a story turns out to be a hero. Something like that occurs in the third book in the The Samantha Newman Mystery Series.
Recaptured Memories
The absolute highlight of the evening was being able to reconnect with old friends, many of whom I hadn’t seen since graduation. Remembering with them what we were like back then and sharing our life journeys since those sweet days was a priceless gift. It left me longing to connect with others who hadn’t made the trip.
There’s something deeply satisfying about sharing memories with people who knew us when. Most special was excavating the hidden treasures of experiences we’d long ago forgotten. And feeling so very grateful for the new lessons, too.
Have you ever attended a class reunion? How did it go?
Please leave a comment below…
Gay Yellen is the award-winning author of the Samantha Newman Mysteries include The Body Business, The Body Next Door, and The Body in the News! Now available on Amazon.
Contact her at GayYellen.com
I’ve never attended any of my reunions. I’d rather leave those unpleasant days in the past, but I do find the bullies from way back when have been great inspiration for both the victims and villains in my books.
Yes, Lois. Funny how bullies back then are inspirations for us now.
I love love love this, Gay, especially since I just attended a mini-reunion in my hometown with people I actually wanted to see. 🙂 Three of these women are on the ’74 high school reunion committee and have worked so hard. Some people who have lived in town for those many years haven’t responded to the invitation; others who were high school principals can’t wait to reconnect with former students, etc.
I have a dear friend is the most polished, confident woman I know. In her current life, she teaches and has a personal training business. She said she was a wallflower in high school (something that if you met her now, you would find hard to visualize). She said that when she walked through the doors at her class reunion, for a moment she reverted to that shy creature she once was. Until she reminded herself of all that she had accomplished in life. Sometimes a little positive self-talk is all we need. Other times, that person we once were is hard to escape.
One more comment else this section will be longer than your blog… I have a friend who’s on Facebook who saw a post from a woman, now in real estate, who was drumming up business. She remembered distinctly that this Realtor bullied her older sister. She left a comment on the Realtor’s page that she wouldn’t do business with bullies, then told her why. What goes around comes around — at least we can make it so in fiction.
Think of all the movies and books about high school reunion. Steven King’s “Carrie” and Peggy Sue Got Married.
Wow, Donnell, your friend really took action. Glad we have a fictional outlet for that kind of thing. Thanks so much for sharing. Sounds like you had a lovely reunion, too.
I’ve been to some of my reunions and did one of my signings as a mini-reunion that benefited the school’s library renovation. All have been fun and surprising in that some of the “fast” crowd grew up nicely or not; same with the shy ones. Rekindling memories was the best part.
It’s definitely the shared memories, Debra, that makes it a special occasion.
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