In recent years a single question had often lingered in my mind in which I would occasionally ask myself, "What would it be like if I attended my twenty-year high school reunion?" As a person who suffers from social anxiety, it took quite a bit of motivation to finalize my decision to want to attend such a unique, once-in-a-lifetime event, especially since the last couple of years required us to socially distance ourselves from one another due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, I just could not pass up an opportunity to walk down the halls of my old high school at least once more in my lifetime! The same hallways once walked by the great rock legend Buddy Holly, I might add!
Because I was an early high school graduate, I did not get to spend as much time at my high school as most of my former classmates did. So, seeing many of them after 21 years felt as though I was walking back into a time warp of many good, and maybe some not-so-good, memories.
The Tour Down Memory Lane
Having some experience in ethnographic research, I wanted to analyze the environments I was in when it came to reuniting with my old classmates. The first environment I had the opportunity to analyze was my old high school. Built in the early 1930's, the high school was built with an intent to serve and educate its local community in what was becoming a rapidly growing city. Because my hometown has never stopped growing since my leaving, more additions to the school's campus have been made, such as a new cafeteria, new gymnasiums, a new library and new classrooms.
Once my husband and I arrived at the school campus, I was amazed by the number of changes that had been made. I was so lost as to where to go that I had reached out to my youngest brother seeking directions on where I could possibly meet up with the tour group made up of my former classmates. He had attended his ten-year reunion back in 2015. He was able to help us spot a group of people in a parking lot that was on the side of the school that had been expanded, hence my confusion. I could not help but laugh and joke how it felt like my first day of attending my old high school all over again!
Once we were able to locate where we needed to be, we decided to walk into some side doors which led into the new cafeteria, where many others were already waiting. Looking around, I was able to immediately spot a few familiar faces. Others had obviously changed, and therefore I was not able to identify them as quickly. I suppose I had the image of how many of them looked in high school still engrained into my head. Though, despite our personal physical changes, and the physical changes made to the high school itself, much of the charm of the school had pretty much remained the same. From the smell of old books and timbers to the Buddy Holly display case, there were various parts within the school that had seemed to be untouched by time. It was almost as if time had never passed.
As the tour guide gave us all an opportunity to wander the halls of the high school on our own, I remembered taking a moment to enjoy the peace and serenity of what was a very innocent time for me, personally. After everything that I (and everyone else) had confronted and survived in the last twenty-one years, it all led up to that moment to where many of us could feel a genuine sense of happiness. A moment in which I was honored to share with my husband.
Since my very last visit to my high school in 2002, I had been almost completely out of touch with my classmates from my original graduating class. As they began their senior year of high school, I was already preparing to face the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As they began to have their families, I was still on my personal (and difficult) journey in trying to figure out who I was and what I wanted to make of my life. Because I grew up under poor socio-economic conditions, I was not always able to have what other kids had. The strong desire to want a better life for my family, and myself, was enough motivation for me to want to figure out ways to get us out of poverty. By graduating early and joining the Navy (only days afterward), I was able to help do just that. Slowly, but surely, my family and I achieved our personal successes, and we could not be happier, and I could not be any prouder of my family for coming a long way themselves.
With my life being where I have always desired it to be, I was able to walk down those hallways with a sense of confidence that I had never carried before as a young, dumb kid. It felt as though life, in certain ways, was coming full circle. At the end of the tour, I took a moment to meet a few classmates for the very first time, and reacquainted myself with others, and while doing so, I began to feel some of that old rare magic that once mystified those hallways due to our collective presence. I am always grateful to have experienced such a seemingly magical morning. It will be a special memory that I will certainly add to the old high school scrapbook.
The Cathartic Reunion
Later that evening, my husband and I met up with many of my former classmates and their significant others for the reunion party at a local golf course amusement park, and my second environment of ethnographic analysis. Once we arrived, my husband and I were told that we were the first guests to check in at the front desk, despite the large number of people and families that were already there. Since my classmates had yet to arrive, I decided to use the extra time to show my husband around the park. I told him that I was actually thrilled to see the area filled with life, and how, for several years, after its closure, the original mini golf park sat a derelict until the park's original arcade building was destroyed by an arsonist in the mid-2010's.
Being where the old mini golf course used to be, where so many of my childhood memories were held, seemed like a very fitting environment to be in with the people with whom I shared that same exact childhood. My husband and I returned to the VIP party room after touring the new park where I began to see even more familiar faces arriving. To say that I was overwhelmed was an understatement. Naturally, many old emotions came flooding back to me, though I do think it may have had something to do with the watermelon cocktails on which I was sipping throughout the evening. It was an absolute great and positive feeling to be able to catch up with so many old classmates. I was able to thank a few people, apologize to others, and also received an apology to which I never expected. To unlock so many memories with my peers was a wonderful feeling to capture in the moment, especially knowing the tense social and political climates in which we currently live.
In that moment, as we all laughed, danced, took pictures and reminisced in what used to be many of our old playing grounds, it seemed as though for a brief moment in time our presence amongst each other created a somewhat utopic-like environment in which we, a very diverse group of alumni, could all step away from our busy lives, as parents, partners and professionals, and just relish in the laughter we could all offer one another. It would be naive to assume that everyone who shows up to a high school reunion might not still hold some type of grudge against you. Yet, it is in that moment your true test of character and growth is displayed, and after 21 years, I must admit I have grown up quite a bit!
Dedicated to the Lubbock High School Class of 2002.
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