Do We Really Need High School Reunions?
I have a theory. Its not a popular theory with some of my friends. Though, some do agree, others think I am full of it. (Those friends are probably right, though).
So my 20th High School reunion is coming up at the end of September. I have been asked to be part of the reunion committee as I put on the 10th. Oh, and let me tell you don’t ever volunteer to put on your high school reunion, I warned you. When they asked me, I told them straight up, I’m not going to help, volunteer or chair anything. I’m going to be one of this people that bitch and moan complain about everything and not step up to fix it. Hey, I couldn’t be more honest then that right? Oh and they still asked me to join the committee. Bless them.
Well all that being said, a funny thing happened. Friends from high school started adding me on Facebook. People I had not talked to or even thought of in 20 years were adding me as friends. Heck people who did not give me the time of day in high school added me.
I could see what they looked like, if they were married, their kids, where they lived, heck what they did last weekend, etc etc. Then some of them would Instant Message on Facebook’s new messaging system. We would chat catch up and gossip about how much hair Joe had lost.
So here is my great big thought for today, with all these social networking tools becoming more popular, why would someone need to go their high school reunion? I probably know everything I need to know via Facebook.
Let’s say you live in North Dakota and you went to high school in California. It will cost you at least $1,000.00 for a flight, hotel room, food, car rental, ticket to the event and such. I can find all those same people and get more info from a site such as Facebook. I’m not saying it can replace face time and people contact, but I’m thinking I would not want to be in the reunion business. I say they will go the way of typewriter repair shops, yogurt shops and VCR repair shops in the next ten years.
Oh and for now Im talking tough and saying I will not be going to my reunion. I live in the same city I grew up in and the event is actually 1.2 miles (ya I measured it) away. My friends have bets ill buckle and end up going, I won’t be able to stay away they say. You live for this stuff they say.
Ya, they are probably right…
Thoughts?
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July 7th, 2008 at 10:52 am
You’ll go! :p
But I agree… the concept of a high school reunion is less relevant in this day and age or social networking sites. I’d be just as happy to catch up with people on email or social networking sites.
Right now I’m saying I’m not going either. We’ll see who buckles in September!
July 7th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
I just missed my 30th. I don’t see it as a big loss. In the wind up for it, I did connect virtually with a few of my pals from the day. I’m more about living right now and not in the past.
July 8th, 2008 at 8:16 am
Unfortunately, there are still so many people (especially “our age”) who aren’t using social networking sites that the good old-fashioned reunion is the only way that they are ever going to see people.
I’d love to see people re-connecting in more meaningful ways (other than one drunken night every 10 years), so I wish more people were using tools like Facebook. The few people that I have connected with that way have become much more familiar and our relationships are based on shared interests in a way that could not be achieved in the traditional way.
July 18th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
You will be attending. I think thou protests too much! lol
July 18th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
You will be attending. I think thou protests too much. lol