It came in the form of a Facebook invite. It was time for my twenty year high school reunion. I really couldn’t believe it, had it already been ten years since the last one? It had. After all the year was 2015 and I graduated in 1995. I had many thoughts run through my head about why I shouldn’t go. I wanted to go because I wanted to see all of my old friends but I had these creeping thoughts in the back of my brain as to why I should sit this one out.
Like:
Who would I go with I am divorced. UGH I feel like the last ten years of my life have been some of the most difficult. BLECH.
Why does that fact alone make me feel like I am less than?
I need to lose twenty pounds.
Maybe I should get Botox.
What would I wear?
Then life set in and I forgot about the whole shebang and the next thing I knew it was the week of and I hadn’t done Botox because let’s face it I had to pay my house payment. I didn’t lose 20 pounds, I gained ten because life as a single Mom doesn’t always allow for work out time. Unless, I get up at 4:45 and that’s for the birds in my opinion. I am still divorced there really isn’t much I can do about that. So I decided to focus on what I could. I found a cute dress and my friend came to my house and gave me a spray tan. I also had a great friend who came to the rescue. Neither of us were super excited to go but thought that maybe if we could go together we would have fun. So we did. We bought our tickets an hour after the ticket sales closed and I am so glad!
Left to right: Holly, Dior, Mindy graduation night 1995
In the year 1995 I was idealistic about life and my future. I thought I had everything figured out and I was excited. The beautiful thing about life is things rarely go the way you think they are going to go. There are tons of set backs but through those set backs you learn who you are and what you are really made of. You become an adult. The education that life brings is so much more because you get to apply what you know and it is not easy. The wonderful thing about attending my twenty year reunion was seeing first hand all of these people who have been mellowed and made better through time. There were Mom bods and Dad bods. There were grey hairs and baldness. There were couples holding hands and couples who had remarried since the last reunion. There were friends who had been battling sickness, kids who were struggling, never married, divorce, new babies, kids graduating, job losses and so much more. SO MUCH MORE. We were bonded together because we have all experienced a little bit of life. It was kind of spectacular. I loved sitting with old friends and talking, really seeing them and how they have grown as a person. I wish more people had come. I wish I could have sat with each person there and talked about life and found out how they were doing. I felt this overwhelming feeling of gratitude for these old friends. I belonged to this, I belonged to the class of 1995. We all did. I felt like every person in that room was remarkable for who they were the experiences they have had and the many lessons they had all learned since the day we graduated. I wish I could let everyone there into my brain for a minute. I wish I could show them what I saw. How I see them and how astounding each and every one of them are. There was no cool group, jock group, nerdy group, smart group, drama group,…we were THE GROUP. What a sight to behold and one that made my heart fill with joy! Thank you to everyone who helped put the night together it was so fun. I hope we have as good or a better turn out for the thirty year reunion.
If I could talk to my 17 year old self on graduation night and give her some advice about the future I think I would tell her to carry on.
CARRY ON MESA HIGH, CARRY ON. XOXO- The Sunny D
20 years?? Where has the time gone!! I debating on attending my reunion but maybe hearing about how great yours was I will! You are one HOT 1995 mesa high jackrabbit!!