Messages from the home front

[uberreiniger]

As some of you know, my ten-year high school reunion is coming up, and as some of you also know, I've been a bit unhappy about not being as far along in life as I'd hoped to be by this point. The other day, a fellow from my high school class e-mailed me wanting me to get in touch with him about the reunion since he's on the committee. Well, we exchanged emails and he told me about how our class had been raising funds, among other things by selling beer at the '93 class's reunion held at the VFW on our town's Main Street last year. His words were, "although *list of names of about six guys from our class who were working the booth* wound up drinking most of it, we still managed to raise $800!"

This really kind of helped put things in perspective for me. The guys mentioned are all really decent guys and I wouldn't ever wish a bad thing on them. But they were also among what you'd call the "preps" in our class. These were the guys who all the girls wanted to be seen with and who were supposed to go off and join the NBA with a huge Nike endorsement fluttering along behind them. It definately put things in perspective, knowing that while I may not have done everything I wanted, may not have gotten as far away as I wanted, that after all this time these guys are still right where they started: in the same town we grew up in, drinking beer down on Main Street, exactly where I left them ten years ago.

Comments

[megiloth.livejournal.com]

I've been a bit unhappy about not being as far along in life as I'd hoped to be by this point.

But...you have an acting degree and you battle ghostly entities every night. That's perty cool :)

I missed my 5 and my 10 year reunions on purpose. No sense in hanging out with people I never hung out with to begin with (wow, that's a lot of 'withs'). If people want to know what I'm doing, they can go to Classmates.com William Chrisman Class of '89.

[anirishspitfire.livejournal.com]

Not happy with yourself? You’re an incredible individual with an endless amount of creativity spilling uncontrollably from your very fingertips, rare jewel of theatrical humor and advanced intelligence, and an excellent samurai. Most people are lucky if they achieve even one of those things in their lives, so hush. ^.^

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

Ah, you are correct. I have displayed cowardice unbecoming a kenshin. For the samurai, to think of the moment before the strike or the moment after is die on his enemy's blade. There is only this moment, this now. Past and future are but idle dreams. Only in the now can victory be achieved.

In other words, thanks! ~.^

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

You are right. When you put it that way, I suppose I am pretty kick-ass! \m/ \m/ I hadn't planned on going to my ten year but in the last few month's I've had a change of heart. I figure, "what the hell." If nothing else, it should be fun to see how fat or bald some of the beautiful people have become and maybe flirt with a girl or two I never had the nerve to back then.

[megiloth.livejournal.com]

My advice is watch Grosse Pointe Blank, go to your class reunion, and try not to kill anyone.

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

*sings*I'll be blowin' yer f**kin' head off when I come, I'll be blowin' yer f**kin' head off when I come...

[stitchedsutures.livejournal.com]

its true.. we're our own worst critics. i wanted to go to my reunion, but we didnt have a 5 yr one. boo. but i'll be at the 10 yr one. and its also true... you're not the only one who isnt where they thought they'd be after HS. my plan has changed a few times, and i honestly dont know of one other person really who went through with things just as planned. i think its a grand lie they try and tell young people "gradute, go to college, get a killer job because you rock and have everything settled out making at least 40K a year by the time you're 25".. what a fucking lie from the pit of Cosmo! You'll do fine. and creativity isnt really a skill you pick up in life anyway. so be happy for the blessings. i think that when i'm feeling down about how far along i've gotten so far.. "at least i still make killer pictures and can work on haunted houses" even if i dont make a certain salary yet. at least i can make things that rock, despite what any other group wants me to think about where i should be in life at the moment.

[megiloth.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah...well I'm gonna put a bullet hole in your fuckin' forehead, and I'm gonna fuck the brain hole!

[skynock.livejournal.com]

if I have it my way I won't be going to my class ten year, I'll be going to the year above me's ten year, since I hated 99.99% of all the people in my age group, and was friends with most of the age group above me.

[donkeyjon.livejournal.com]

I'll give you some perspective, if it helps:

My 10 year was last year. I did not attend. My cousin is the same age as me and went to the same HS, and he did attend. It turns out that just about everyone who went was far more laid back and normal than you ever would have expected. They got older, got fatter, got married, had kids, and all around just went about their lives. From what I understand, the "party" wasn't even very jumping. It was described as "a boring kegger for old fogeys".

I personally didn't go because I'm an insufferable prick, and I have lost contact with almost all of my HS classmates due to no desire to correspond with anyone who is outside of my daily sphere of friends. I was also somewhat worried, given that one of my classmates was a #1 draft pick for the Detroit Tigers, and signed a massive contract with them before promptly dropping to the minors for the duration of his career. He's a multi-millionaire. Another classmate opened his own business straight out of HS and is now a multi-millionaire. I didn't like either of them in HS, and I use them as my seething, hateful reason that I must succeed monetarily or die. Guess what, neither of them showed up. Why? Because they're fricking millionaires, and they sure have better things to do than hang out with a bunch of their HS buddies.

That's when I realized that HS reunions aren't that bad. The truly successful people don't show up, but the real bleeding failures do. When compared with that crowd, anyone who isn't well into their second divorce is doing just fine.

[nolens-volens.livejournal.com]

I did go to my 10-year high school reunion, mostly begrudgingly because, like you, I was unhappy where I was professionally and personally. What I found out was that time serves as a great equalizer. And (I think someone else has commented this) people were a lot more laid back than I had expected them to be. I'm really glad that I went because I got to catch up with people that I cared about and I had a great time.

Once you get to talking with people, you find out that you're doing a lot better than you give yourself credit for.

[etan.livejournal.com]

Last year (or the year before?), I got together over christmas with a bunch of my old high school friends. I had only kept in contact with one of them, so I didn't know how most of them where. I was a bit worried, since I had flunked out of college etc., and they had all gone on and graduated 'n stuff.

When we all got together...I discoverd something...they were all doing the exact same things they did in high school! they were dating the same people (dating in the same group of people), living in the same neighborhoods, and doing the exact same things for fun they used to. Turns out...they were miserable and bored, having never done anythign with their lives! I discovered that, despite flunking out of college and being a "failure," I had lived so much more life than any of them! Imagine their suprise when they discovered I was making just as much money as any of their prestige engineering jobs. And several of them were thinking about quiting their jobs to find something they liked...though I'd seriously doubt any of them would have the gumption to quit their job and live their life.

I can't wait to go back to my 10 year in a few years. I'm not the same nate I used to be. Turns out, I rather like this nate, and i'm ready to show him off! Go show off your tyree! parade it in front of them and rub it in their faces that happiness isn't where they expected it, and you knwo the secret!

[yaqui.livejournal.com]

Absolutely wonderful advice!

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

Around your age I felt exactly the same way, but anymore it just doesn't bother me. I look at it as a chance to maybe get to know some people for the first time that all the barriers of high school kept me from getting to know before. If nothing else, it'll be an interesting anthropological study.

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

Oh I don't think I'm doing all that bad anymore. Like I said, a little perspective helps immensely.

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm not afraid anymore. I *am* doing pretty well and have had plenty of accomplishments no one else can lay claim to, just as I'm sure someone there will have some things under their belt that will amaze me. And like I said, knowing that the golden children are still drinkin' beer down on main street makes me realize I'm doin' just fine. It'll still be fun to see everybody again, see how we all act now that we no longer have the silly unwritten rules of high school constraining how we act and what we say.

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

The Tyree will be fully polished and ready for the showroom stage well before the August date, I assure you :)

[nolens-volens.livejournal.com]

Good. Perspective can be a wonderful thing.

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

I think dreams can come true in the form you envision them, but whoever started saying that "you MUST make X happen by a certain age in order to have Y by such-and-such time in your life" really set things up to screw a lot of people over. Somewhere it's like people started believing that our achievements are measured not just in what we have, but hy when we have it. That's part of the problem with HS reunions, especially the ten-year since it makes people feel pressured to show each other what all they've done with themselves in the interim. If these people are supposed to be your "friends for life" who you shared "the best years of your life" with, then why feel like you've got something to prove to them? It doesn't make sense. I'm glad I've woken up and seen that trap for what it is now. Now at least I think I can enjoy seeing all the old gang again without having to feel threatened by their fish stories or feeling the need to compensate with fish stories of my own.