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Written by Erin Frustaci
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Wednesday, 05 July 2006 |
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Page 1 of 5 
Taking a walk down memory lane for some invokes fear of tripping and landing face down in the concrete with a crowd of peers pointing and laughing. If high school is supposed to be the best time of your life, why wouldn’t more people race back to the starting line?
For some reason, the thought of high school reunions brings mixed emotions to everyone, from the former captain of the football team to the former president of the chess club.
“It’s just, ‘Do I really want to meet up with these people again?’ You get nervous about what people are going to think of you and your life,” Devlyn Flannery, 28, of Severance said.
Flannery recently attended her 10-year reunion. She graduated from Rocky Mountain High School in Fort Collins in 1996.
She and her best friend from the fifth grade, Rainy Wagner, had to talk each other into going. They have kept in touch and talk on the phone about once a week.
Wagner, who now lives in Bozeman, Mont., decided she wanted to go so she could see her best friend and visit family.
 “We really did have to convince each other, though,” Wagner said.
Luckily, when one was having doubts, the other was feeling good about going.
“The main issue with a lot of friends I talked to was, ‘Am I too fat?’” Flannery said. “We all have mommy bodies now.”
Wagner agreed.
“We all have mommy curves, but other than that, we are still perfect, just like in high school,” she said with a smile.
Wagner and Flannery decided to make their reunion a girls weekend. Before making an appearance, they drove around town reminiscing about being kids. Reunions are a time to revisit the past and catch up with old friends.
 In a class of 405 students, about 120 people joined Flannery and Wagner at the reunion. Among them was Travis Baum, 29, who just returned from teaching in Japan for the past three years. In high school, he played football, soccer and played the violin.
“I wanted to know if it is true that everyone really swells. It tends to be the case,” Baum said.
He and a couple of high school buddies got together before the reunion, had a few beers and watched “Grosse Pointe Blank,” a movie staring John Cusack as a hit man who goes to his high school reunion.
It’s natural to be curious about how people have changed. Though some appearances had changed, Baum noted how many things stay the same.
“Everyone is still in the same cliques. I don’t even know half these people,” he said.
Whether or not all of the organized events are your thing, reunions can be a nice starting point. Often alums will do their own things in lieu of the scheduled dance or picnic.
 Like many, Chris Borstad didn’t like much about high school.
“I was pretty shy in high school,” he said. “I didn’t have much self-confidence.”
Now a graduate student in Vancouver, British Columbia, Borstad has grown up, just like most of his classmates.
Looking back, he realizes he was still a child in high school. He decided he wanted to see all the people he grew up with as adults.
“A lot of people have children and houses and white picket fences, which aren’t a part of my life at all,” he said. “I’m still in grad school, 10 years later.”
Several of Borstad’s closest friends are married and have kids, but Borstad wasn’t jealous because he’s happy where he is at in his life. He enjoyed seeing a different side of his buddies.
Chances are, any insecurities or doubts you have about a reunion, your classmates are having too. If you do go, keep an open mind and don’t set any expectations.
Flannery recommends going for fun, not to search out any deep connections.
“It’s just interesting to see where some people had been in the last 10 years,” she said.
One person she spoke with had joined the military and another watched the towers fall on Sept. 11, 2001.
And remember, it’s only a night. The next day, you will be back in the present, leaving high school in your past again. Besides, you can always ditch if it’s too much of a bore, just like you did your senior year.
If, by chance, you do stumble during your walk down memory lane, remember those friends, both new and old, who will help you up, dust you off — and remind you about it 10 years from now.
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| | My name is Michelle Turley and I'm 28 years old. I live in Severance with my hubbie, Brandon. We have 2 dogs and a cat. We enjoy camping, four-wheeling, and just being in the mountains. I like to cook, clean (go figure), flea market, and play poker. I have so much to say about poker... | |
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