One Step at a Time: My High School 20-Year Reunion

Montclair Cultural Arts Center

I can't believe I just attended my 20-year high school reunion. Has it really been that long? No way. I learned about the date that was set for this Summer way back in February, shortly before my knee surgery. I had little doubt at the time that I would attend, although I did reconsider a few times before the actual event.

You see, I didn't have much fun at my 10-year reunion. I'm not sure why, but I really didn't take it that seriously. Once I got there, I didn't feel dressed up enough and got really tired of people saying, "Why would you do that?" when they learned I was moving to Salt Lake City, Utah for a new job. Yes, I knew it was not the most common place to relocate, but I was tired of the So Cal life I was living and was looking forward to my new adventure. Also, people were still just too clique-y at the reunion for me. Not a lot had changed since high school. You see, I always considered myself somewhere in-between the "popular" kids in school and the "not-so-popular" kids. In hindsight, I was definitely one of those girls that worried about whether I was wearing the right clothes and was taking part in the right activities so people accepted me. I did do things I wanted to do, but I was more of a goody-two-shoes than a someone who wanted to be "different." 20 years later? I'm pretty sure that hasn't changed! Anyway, one thing I was a little concerned about was the fact that I'm still *single.* Thing is, what can I do? Was I going to let it keep me from seeing old friends and familiar faces? No, it wasn't.

So I got my plans together. I was meeting my friend Melissa and her husband Matthew at their home in Oakland. Another friend from high school, Chris, was traveling all the way from his home in Singapore to attend the reunion. He was staying with Melissa and Matthew, so we would all go together. Great! I had decided a while back that I thought it would be fun to get my hair and make-up done for the event. Why not? I never had my hair done for anything other than when I was a bridesmaid and I always to the same old boring routine with my make-up. I thought it would be a little treat to myself. Well, the day of the reunion arrived. I was rushing around some errands and finally sat down for my pampering around 2:00 PM.

An hour and a half later, I was on my way home to change and get to Oakland. To be blunt, I was now in a completely different mind set. Rather than feeling pretty, I felt like I was trying too hard. I had never worn so much make-up in my whole life! I don't think I even wore that much make-up while performing in the school musical. Uh oh, this is not how I wanted to feel before seeing my old classmates. When I was finally on my way to Melissa's, I called her and voiced my concern. I asked her to promise to tell me if I had too much make-up on. I arrived at her house, and she said I looked fine, but I was still a little worried. That's just what I do. We looked through some old photo albums and toasted each other with the champagne I brought along. Then, we called a cab and off we headed to the reunion.

Chris waiting for the cab on the front porch

I was nervous heading into the event, but relaxed after a short time of chatting with people I hadn't seen in a really long time. I noted that pretty much all of my classmates who attended looked great! Some people were dressed up a lot more than others, but in the end, it didn't really matter. I had a much better time than at my 10-year reunion. People were kind and laid back. They just seemed genuinely happy to see each other whether they hung out in high school or not! The evening just flew by and suddenly we were off to an after-party at Crogan's in Montclair. I'll spare you the details, but during the evening, there were great stories told, a whole lot of reminiscing, and even a little drama at the end. No, the drama didn't involve me, but it was sure fun to watch! I never thought I would be one of the last people to leave my reunion, but I was. The evening went by so fast and, unfortunately, I hardly took any photos. Here are the few I managed to take: