Sometimes I do still feel a bit silly, sharing personal stuff online, even though the ‘stuff’ I’m going to show next has already appeared on various other places across the world wide web. And even though friendly readers often comment they like these random ‘what I’ve been up to’ bits. So anyway, here’s another page of my ‘diary’. Moral of the story will be: reunions are good.
Back in the summer of 1999, when I graduated, I had already agreed with someone dear to me that we’d have a reunion a couple of years later. We joked about how old we would look by then, but I think both of us had in mind we would have just as much fun as we were having that same evening. You know, kind of growing up, but kind of picking up where you left at the same time?
That didn’t go as planned of course, but all the better. I had already been reunited with our ‘old school’ when I started working there as a teacher. But we recently had a more official reunion too, which was nothing like the ones you see in the movies for instance. No party, no invitations and no balloons (reunions have balloons right?) Instead a couple of classmates were triggered to share memories of back then on facebook of all places, which resulted in someone (probably yours truly) to suggest doing this in Real Life.
We tried to find as many people from the old annual group picture, online (who would’ve thought that, those 14 years ago!) and we simply agreed on a date, time and venue to go and have dinner together. And we had fun. I’ve often wondered, does anyone else remember seemingly insignificant moments of their lives, dating years back? Seriously, let me know. I saw things in this very much mixed group of people that had just stayed the same through the years. But we did also look older indeed.
I guess I already knew this though, from staying in touch with at least two friends since then. In a couple of years’ time you’re still you, but with different aspects, because you’ve learned new things. So you’re a more complete version of you. I’m probably just kicking in open doors now, I know. But thanks for humouring me.
I can recommend going to reunions in any case. Or organising one for that matter. It was nice seeing the people again with whom I shared my teenage years and to find out what they’ve been up to. Some are married with kids, some have had jobs abroad. Some told me they’d heard that their old classmate made this big discovery in space… But they didn’t know yet I could tell them which teachers are still working at the place where we first met.
We took a couple of more pictures, to share later on facebook of course, and at the end of the day we concluded we had a good time. This evening and those last years of the past millennium. Here are some of those pictures. This is my life too. Silliness is good.
Ladies and gentlemen, the class of 1999. Pictures from Randy Dennison:
