Part 2: The Reunion Itself

I think most of us go into high school reunions with an agenda. “I’m going to show everyone that I’m no longer this way,” or “I’m going to show them that I’ve become this.” I had a bunch of conflicting agendas running through my brain, but the moment I walked in the door I forgot everything as I was warmly greeted, and at once began the handshaking, the backslapping, the bear hugs, and the How the hell are you’s.

Rereading over the previous post, I hope I didn’t come off as bitter. Like I said, it was an endeavor doomed to failure to write up a summary of high school. What I was trying to get across was that, yes, I was shy and socially awkward and high school was a difficult time, but that wasn’t the fault of my classmates. In fact I always felt that given my extreme shyness, I was treated with more kindness than I had any right to expect.

In fact one of the main reasons I went to Calvin was to keep in touch with my former high school classmates, as silly as that sounds now. It’s well known that every year Calvin takes 50% or so of every graduating class from Grand Rapids Christian. Once I actually got to Calvin, I found that within a few months I was identifying much stronger with the people in my dorm than the people from my high school, but I still saw the old gang around everywhere I went. As someone said at the reunion, “It’s a good thing nobody organized a 5 year reunion. There would have been no point. It would have been like, ‘So what are you doing? Oh, that’s right, you were in my religion class last semester.’”

Then again, 50% is only 50%. There’s another half of the class that mostly dropped off the face of the earth after graduation. And it was really good to see a lot of them again.

High school angst or post-high school angst aside, the biggest problem of a high school reunion is the politics of cocktail parties. How to be able to work the room, talk to everyone you want to talk to, have meaningful yet short conversations with several people, don’t overstay your welcome in any one conversation, and when the time comes be able to break off smoothly and go to the next conversation. Not my strong points any of them. I did my best, but there were several moments that felt a bit awkward or could have been smoother. On one hand, I felt like there were several people I would have liked to talk to, but never found the opportunity. On the other, there were a few moments when I felt like I was awkwardly standing with my drink in hand trying to force my way into a group that really didn’t want me there. High school all over again.

Certainly I think we were all really sick of repeating the same conversation over and over again by the time the night was over. And the acoustics of the room required me to raise my voice to be heard each time.

I’ve mentioned this before, but often I find that other people find my experience of teaching in Japan more impressive than it really is. It’s a cush job that requires virtually no talent other than being a native English speaker and a college graduate. Most people do it because they don’t know what else to do with their life and it’s a way to put off the real world for a year. And often with JET or English teaching communities in Japan, the longer you stay, the more of a loser you are.

And yet to the layman, not only does teaching in Japan sound really impressive, but the longer you’ve been there, the more impressive it sounds. I’m certainly not the only one of my classmates whose traveled over the past 10 years, but I’m the only one who put in 5 years in the same country. So a lot of people were really impressed. In fact my name was the answer to one of the questions in the ice-breaking game. (“Which one of our classmates spent 5 years in Japan?”)

I was also of course famous for the fake update I sent in to the alumni magazine a couple years ago. (The sequel, unfortunately, never got printed). Most people realized it was a joke. A few had been genuinely concerned about me (which I felt slightly guilty about). Of course, when you think about it the amazing thing is that I was the only one who had a little fun with the alumni magazine. Doesn’t it seem like the kind of thing more people would be trying to pull?

In addition to having a bunch of short conversations with people I wanted to talk longer too, I had a couple of long conversations with people I barely knew in high school. It felt a bit strange maybe, but it was really good.

There were also two people from my high school class who had died since graduation. They were too young to die, but I could list a lot more people I know who were too young to die, and I’m sure you can too. What really shocked me is the fact that a high school classmate can die, and I can go for a year and a half without hearing about it. I guess that’s what happens when you lose touch, but after spending 4 years seeing these people every day, it just seems weird.

All in all, I’m very glad I went. Some of these people I might not see again for another 10 years, but it was good to reconnect.

Useless Wikipedia Fact
Though Harrison intended the song "Piggies" as social commentary, it was often misinterpreted as an anti-police anthem. Charles Manson, who misinterpreted many of songs from The White Album to justify his murders, took the phrase, "what they need's a damn good whacking", to mean that he should attack the American police. During the murders of Sharon Tate, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca and others, knives and forks were used to stab them because these utensils were mentioned in the song. The words "pig and piggy," were written with the victims' blood on the walls. Harrison was horrified when he learned his song took on another meaning

Link of the Day
Here's a clip of youtube clip from the infamous "Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus". This was a 1968 television special with the who, Rolling Stones, John Lennon, and Eric Clapton that was never aired because the Rolling Stones thought "The Who" had outperformed them. (wikipedia article here) This particle clip is an interview between John Lennon and Mick Jagger, plus "Yer Blues" song by the supergroup consisting of John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and Mitch Mitchell and Yoko Ono. How cool is that? (Same video also on Google, if that works better for you)