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The Best And Worst Transformations Seen During School Reunions, As Shared By These 30 Internet Users
Who you are now and who you were back in school are two totally separate people… probably. But let’s be real here for a second: class reunions can be super stressful, no matter how successful you are right now. There’s always this low-key anxiety that you haven’t lived up to your potential and that others might see you as who you were way back then, not the adult you’ve become now. Or worse, that you somehow peaked back then and it’s all been downhill from there.
We’ve collected some of the most powerful real-life stories about the biggest transformations, good and bad, that people have seen during their school reunions, as shared on r/AskReddit. It just goes to show that nobody’s future is truly set in stone. And the trajectory you’re on in high school can change drastically. Upvote the stories that impressed you the most, and let us know how your recent reunions went in the comments, dear Pandas.
When you’re done reading through this list, you might want to consider checking out Bored Panda’s earlier article about the worst school reunion stories—it’s proof that a bit of awkwardness is really nothing to worry about in comparison.
Bored Panda reached out to Lisa McLendon, the William Allen White Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications and the Coordinator at the Bremner Editing Center at the University of Kansas, to get her perspective about staying in touch with former students, and supporting them whether they're still studying or when they've graduated. You'll find her thoughts as you scroll down, dear Pandas.
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#1
Back in highschool we had a kid who has aspergers and was a little weird. He was, however, amazing at the yo-yo, having picked one up during middle school when we had that yo-yo trick assembly. After everyone else had stopped walking the dog in 8th grade, this guy was doing more and more elaborate tricks every day during lunch. He was bullied and teased but he continued doing what he loved.
So, at our ten year reunion, people from every strata of high school popularity was there, including this guy. He was his same old self, but more confident. I asked him if he still yo-yos, and he busted out his custom made titanium yo-yo that he said he made on a CNC lathe. He then starts to do some tricks and a large crowd gathered around. It was quite the show, he had gotten very good. When he finished, people clapped and cheered, and even the jockiest dudes from back in the day fist bumped him and told him how badass he was.
So I guess the biggest transformation was everyone else. Nobody teased him for being who he was anymore, they now admired him for being so passionate about something.
Random Anon 2 years ago (edited)
As you age, you gain wisdom and most stop being boneheads. Most but not all. Some stay boneheaded until they're gray and one foot in the grave.
RELATED:
#2
One of my neighbors growing up was that super motivated Type A do everything types. Co-valedictorian, captain of the hockey team, gifted musician...just always working.
10 year reunion, went just how we all expected. Full ride to Yale, Harvard MBA, six figure Wall Street job, gorgeous fiance...and he seemed utterly miserable.
10 years later, 20th reunion. He got sick of it all, quit his job, sold his house, got divorced, and got out of town. He now owns a pig farm in Upstate New York, spends his days working the farm, brewing beer, and hiking in the forest...and I've never met a happier, more satisfied person in my life.
#3
mega obese quiet kid (so huge everyone just exempted him from cruel remarks etc) - lost hundreds of pounds and also ended up being fabulously gay - showed up with his sassy little boyfriend -- i was so happy for him
"I stay in touch with some students—social media has made this a lot easier—and there are a few I meet with in person, either to touch base as a mentor or just to catch up," Professor McLendon, from the University of Kansas, shared with Bored Panda.
"A few have gone into teaching, either full-time or part-time, which is always nice to see," she told us that some of her students have followed in her footsteps.
#4
My boyfriend went to his 10 year over the weekend. Saw this woman he didn't know. Turned out to be one of his old football buddies... So, I'd say that was a very big transformation.
#5
Not 10 but 5.
This kid that everyone made a scapegoat in high school is LOADED.
He was the kid that certain groups would pretend to be friends with and then do something horrible to him as a "joke" like depantsing him in front of the whole lunch room or teasing him about his small d**k till he cried (not sure if he actually had one or not just high school a**holes being a**holes)
Turns out that he won some sort of contest/scholarship thing for this space engineering idea and ended up going to school in California for free. I guess he worked super hard and was able to graduate a year early and now is just like rich as f**k working for some sort of space engineering thing that works closely with NASA.
It was funny listening to all the people who use to make fun of him just listen to his life story with their mouths hanging wide open. He has no debt, owns a beautiful home in California and another "cabin" home in our home state (MN), drives beautiful cars, hangs out with beautiful people. All at the ripe age of 24. You could practically smell the jealousy. Plus he brought his smoking hot gf.
It made me so happy for him :)
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago
The ones teasing him about his penis size were probably just projecting their shame at only having an angry inch themselves.
Zophra 2 years ago
Well, he has a "smoking hot girlfriend" - I guess that means he has arrived. Why do many of these posts act like a female is a materialistic status commodity? It really bothers me - maybe more than it should, but still...
Amazon QT 2 years ago
It almost reads like an 80s Teen Movie directed by John Hughes.
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Ruth Hempsey 2 years ago
Being more successful than your tormentors is the best revenge. Well done.
ChingoChango 1 year ago
Isn't Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion , exactly this story of the Alan Cummings character??
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Kristin Nicole 2 years ago
The first line said it was a 5-yr reunion, not ten. Reunion was a year ago.
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Jill McElroy 2 years ago
This is not as uncommon as you might think. Especially if it happened in the dot com boom days. But it still happens a lot around here. My family in from San Jose,CA; Silicon Valley. (Like my family has been here since it was part of Mexico, so I’m actually from here. Which is saying something. No one here, is from here. Everyone is like the super smart nerd from somewhere else. Often another country. Being a nerd is the norm & seen as cool around. If you’re in the right company, in the right field at the right time, you can do very, very well. There’s lots of perks, but the reason for all those perks is because they never want you to leave work. (Actually, most offices have rules disallowing you from sleeping there. Cause people will work so long & then take a nap rather then go home & keep going.) It can get a little crazy. But if you love what you’re doing & this is the land of the nerd, so most of us do, then it doesn’t really feel like work.
Lokahi Colotario 2 years ago
Yup, them d**k teasers are probably in the Oscar Meyer wiener club.
Morgan Carpenter 1 year ago
Happy for him but women aren't trophies. All these "he's successful because his wife is hot" comments are pretty misogynist.
Melissa Hammond 1 year ago
People never remember that the Wheel turns, and those that were on bottom, are lifted up, and they go to the top. And the ones who were the top dogs, now must take their turn being on the bottom. If people did remember this, maybe they'd be more gracious while they're up there. Cause soon enough, it'll be their turn to be on bottom. Every dog has it's day, dontcha know? I have questions, tho. How is it they knew what size this guy's penis was, again? I mean, in what context would they acquire this info? Because they sure do seem to be fixated on what his penis looks like. Don't they have one? Well. They should just look at it, then. What? Insecure? I'm a nurse, and when I say, that allowing for the occasional anomaly, which is rare, if you've seen one penis, you really have seen them all, I mean it. What's to see? I mean, it is what it is. And no, I wouldn't describe it as "pretty". Women don't think the way you yutzes do about stuff like that. Js.
Max Fox 1 year ago
Ummm, no. I know a number of people who did very well in the tech world. This is BS. One does not become a millionaire in three years from an invention. It would take a few years, a job at FAANG that included stock option, a giant bonus, etc. If it was the 10 year I would believe it. Not the 5 year.
Robyn Picknell 2 years ago
I love when people are so happy for the success and happiness of others!
Dark Fafnir 2 years ago
Im sure all those whom made fun of him are very good citizens...........
BP StPaul 2 years ago
He didn't claim to invent "post its" did he? Because maybe all was not what it seemed....
Tamara Cooper 2 years ago
I’m so happy that this was life story. For so many others, things go so wrong so fast as a result of humiliation and bullying. F**k AH
Kristin Nicole 2 years ago
The first line explained it was the 5-yr reunion, not ten.
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Yep, and now he is rich enough to legally trash the lives of those who tormented him. If he felt like it.
David Allen 2 years ago
You only get angry when people say you have a small penis, if you have a small penis. Because if you don't have a small penis it's a pretty infective insult. This guy has little man in the pants syndrome. Maybe he can work with NASA to engineer himself a bigger penis.
Ron Raghavan 2 years ago
Ummm… you only focus on his penis instead of getting angry at bullies if you’re a bit of an a**hole yourself. Maybe NASA could ship you off to Ur’a**s’ with the rocket ship this guy invents
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Dave 2 years ago
~The levels of bullying in the U.S. high schools are criminal. Absolutely criminal. No surprise that every week a kid snaps and shoots up a school. Speaks volumes about the U.S. society and Nation as a whole.
CP Wood 2 years ago
Makes you wonder why kids today seem angrier than ever, and not just in the U.S., but world-wide; that's how it seems to me; kids have access to way too many weapons that can do immense damage in a matter of seconds; they are exposed to so much more since the internet started; too many of them come from broken and/or angry homes, with parent's who are extremely stressed out themselves, and not enough positive nurturing is going on; too many single mother's working two, or more jobs, don't know what their kids are getting into or how desperately their kids need their attention, in a loving, nurturing way. Gangs and general bad influences are ready with open arms to embrace the kids, make them feel part of something; they feel wanted, and useful, and needed, and noticed. I think so many of the kids feel invisible; they want to be seen and heard. So many seem to feel untethered, wanting a feeling of belonging; getting noticed for doing wrong is better than being invisible. What now?
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Cammy Cat 2 years ago
I wish there was a way to get kids to understand. Life as a kid/in HS is NOT how life is going to be. U don't know everything as a kid and u don't have it all figured out. Be open to everything, b a sponge, soak up the knowledge those around u have. U never know where life is going to take u
#6
On the flip side I know someone who hasn't aged since high school. No extra fat, no wobbles, no gray hair, nothing. Even his voice is the same at thirty as it was at fourteen. I'm pretty sure he's a vampire.
Bored Panda wanted to get the professor's opinion on what educators can do to encourage their students to aim for the stars, and how to pick up their spirits if they haven't (yet) achieved what they set out to after graduation.
According to Professor McLendon, there are two parts to inspiring students to aim high. "One, give them a solid foundation to build their skills and knowledge on, so they’ll be able to succeed at whatever they choose to pursue," she said.
"Two, give them support and encouragement—and the benefit of your own network, if possible—to help them get where they want to be," she explained what educators can do.
#7
Twin sisters. The good one straight A student and a perfect angel is now 90 pounds soaking wet and just finished her 4th stint in rehab for drugs. The one who was a trouble maker and constantly in trouble even arrested a few times for drugs and shop lifting while in high school, is a doctor with a family.
Random Anon 2 years ago (edited)
I've seen this quite often. I see parents leaving the sibling doing well to do their thing without much support and focus on the problematic child. As a result, these kids lose steam and motivation. Why bother if mom and dad isn't acknowledging it? Some spiral out of control for some attention. It's pretty sad really, but it's pretty common. The question is whether these parents catch it in time.
#8
I used to pass notes to a guy in Algebra class... mostly song lyrics. I'd write a line pass it to him, he'd write a line, back and forth. He was a quiet kid and friends with some other friends of mine who were big into BMX bikes and skateboards. I took a bunch of photos of these guys for my photography class. At graduation, he said he was heading to California to ride BMX. He never came to a reunion... he was too busy playing rhythm guitar in Guns N Roses as Izzy Stradlin.
LinkTheHylian 2 years ago
A lot of rock stars seem to have been the quiet, nerdy, skater/BMX types when they were kids. I remember hearing how excited Corey Taylor was to provide his roars for Doctor Who, I read an interview with Robb Flynn who apparently had blueprints for the Death Star and vehicles from Star Wars, and obviously The Offspring and blink-182 were two of many skater punk groups to become hugely successful bands.
#9
One girl who sat next to me in English class in junior and senior year. Thick coke bottle glasses, a bird's nest of thick curly hair. She was always very nice and very smart, but super quiet and introverted.
I was an extroverted, outgoing jacka** so I used to ask her to read parts when we studied Shakespeare, invited her into my group for group projects and made her take speaking roles, that kind of thing. She was never really comfortable talking about herself and we never hung out outside of class, so I left school not knowing much about her except that she was smart, quick to grin at a joke, and had strong feelings about "The Crucible".
Ten years later, this gorgeous woman shows up at our reunion. Smoking hot redhead, sparkling blue eyes, stacked hourglass figure. That goofy teenage grin had turned into a confident, knowing smile. She knew how to dress and make herself up to emphasize her assets and minimize her flaws. She was jaw-droppingly stunning.
We talked for a good hour. She was just a late bloomer. I apologized for always volunteering her for public speaking and she said it was one of the things that made her start to confront her shyness. She ended up going to an ivy league school and became a journalist, of all things.
We still chat from time to time.
Edit: no, we didn't bang. I was happily engaged by my 10 year reunion and well settled into my career. She lived in Africa on assignment from a wire service. We were in very different places in our lives and I was and am happy to count her as a friend.
Shaun Kirk 2 years ago
As happy as I am for her becoming more confident, it's a pity that the majority of this post focuses on her physical attractiveness. Could have left all of that information out and it would still have been a great example of how she'd transformed.
Meanwhile, if someone feels like they still haven't lived up to their potential after graduating, the support and encouragement they get from their former professors or teachers can really help.
"Lots of people don’t get there right away, or end up somewhere else completely, and if students see how others have navigated their career paths, it helps instill some patience and also an openness to other possible pathways," the professor told us.
Whether we like it or not, we’re social animals. We need other people and their approval to feel good. We’re hardwired for communication and cooperation. That, at least in part, explains why some individuals might feel apprehensive about going to their high school reunions. They might think that who they are now won’t leave a positive enough impression on their former classmates.
You might not be where you imagined yourself when you were back in school. Or you might feel embarrassed about how you look, the choices you’ve made. Some people might even feel that they haven’t changed at all over the years. Or that they’re not as ‘cool’ as they were when they were a teenager. In short, we think it’s fair to say that nearly everyone wants to leave a positive impression. Bold, beautiful, successful, witty, and charming—that’s what we want to be seen as.
#10
My husband and I went to the same high school but met years later. He was the football player all the girls wanted in bed and all the guys wanted to be with. I was the one people threw against lockers and treated like trash. When my reunion came around, one of the girls I had kept in contact with asked me to help with the website, so I said what the hell. When we showed up, quite a few people asked why he was there. He had graduated 2 years earlier. He said he was with his wife and just and took his seat. I walked in and took a seat as they were thanking those who helped with the reunion. When they announced my name, people looked around slightly confused. I stood, like the others and you could hear a pin drop. Apparently I changed quite a bit in that ten years. My husband raised his glass and smiled again. It was awesome.
#11
One kid was fairly small, quiet and goofy. Nice kid, but nothing too special about him. We hung out a few times at speech/drama tournaments.
I had wondered what happened to him. Turns out he grew quite a lot and became quite popular. His acting career took him far. He's been in several huge films, including X-Men.
We knew him as Jimmy. Today he goes by a more mature name of James - James Marsden.
I hope he's still a cool, goofy guy deep down that I remember from the few times we hung out.
#12
This guy was poor. Nice kid, but really poor. Only owned 2 shirts and 1 pair of pants. People always donated clothes to school to give to family. Dirty, needed groomed, overall looked homeless. You know how most kids are, mean about it, but he was cool.
Millionaire. Has started and sold quite a few businesses and is overall very successful. Invests in lots of real estate now.
Random Anon 2 years ago
Yeah it was pretty much poverty that drove me to do better. It's not that I'm incapable of the "cockroach" lifestyle, I grew up like that. I simple refuse to live like that anymore.
The irony, of course, is that everyone’s so worried about their own self-image that they don’t really notice the things that we’re worried about. (Though, on the flip side, people really do gossip over the smallest flaws, too. But there’s no way that you can eradicate gossip without taking away what makes our species ‘human’ in the first place. And... gossip can actually have some benefits, too, like encouraging cooperation and helping 'reform' mean individuals.)
We think that it’s best to… just be yourself. If you’re happy, if you feel that you’re successful based on what’s most important to you, then that’s wonderful. But don’t skip out on your school reunion just because you think someone might not like your haircut or suit. You never know, it might be a lot of fun catching up with the people who used to be your friends. And it’s the perfect opportunity to act goofy and childlike for an evening.
One pet peeve of ours is that no matter how successful we are, the moment we walk into that reunion, someone is bound to start reminiscing about the good old days and sharing a ton of embarrassing stories that you’d rather forget. You know, Pandas, the kind of stuff you suddenly remember when you’re showering or when you go get a glass of water at 5 o’clock in the morning. Thanks, Chad, thanks for reminding everyone of the time Jim puked after eating a bad taco. You too, Stacy, you’re just wonderful for bringing up the story about how Alice got spooked on the stage and started stuttering. Brilliant…
#13
Me, actually.
I was this weird punk-ish nerd that none of the boys would even look at, let alone ask on a date. I had a girlstache and no boobs. And besides that, I was the only poor kid in an expensive school (yay scholarships).
10 years later, I'm hot. Pardon my lack of modesty, but I look really good, and I bought the boobs I wanted. I dress well, I speak 3 languages, and I'm one of the few who has a college degree and a steady job in my area. I'm living by myself and paying all my bills while most still live with their parents and use their money at almost 30.
Suck it, you bunch of bullies.
Manon Scully 2 years ago
Don't apologise for being confident and finding yourself hot. You deserve to be happy with yourself. And well done!
#14
This girl, let's call her Jane, was always very quiet. She was never picked on, but that's because she was mostly ignored. She wrote lots of poetry and read lots of books and I never heard her talk in school outside of English class. She started smoking cigarettes and drinking when she was a teen, but she didn't like parties with lots of people. The few times I talked to her it was always about how terrible parents were or how terrible God is or how terrible the government is. She was thin and pretty too, and my friend dated her briefly, but he said he couldn't deal with her anger.
Flash forward I see her again. She put on a ton of weight. Like a ton. I thought "oh great now she has body issues on top of her other issues. Poor girl." But I talked to her and she was so happy.
She got a job writing for a travel blog and she gets to go all over the country. She came out as a lesbian and I saw pictures of her and her partner's travels. She quit drinking and she's been sober for a few years now. She's very open about her struggles with her identity, alcohol, and depression that date all the way back to high school.
So physical and mental state she had a huge transformation. And I'm glad she found a happy ending.
Quinn Peregrine 2 years ago
Friendly reminder that weight is not an indicator of health or happiness! Good for her!
#15
Tough, bada** football player with shaved head, nicknamed "Iceman". Came to the reunion a skinny, long-haired hippy/yogi and sporting one of the happiest smiles I've ever seen. I like to think he finally figured out who he really was.
It’s probably a question of ‘when,’ not ‘if’ someone’s going to bring up your past. And even though our instincts might yell at us to cringe and shy away, it’s best to do the opposite. Lean into the embarrassment. Embrace it. Laugh it off. Show everyone you’re having fun. Ironically, this is what’s going to make people love you more: accepting your flaws, not trying to pretend you never had any.
Vanessa Bohns, an Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at Cornell University, explained to Bored Panda during an interview for a previous article that not hiding our embarrassment helps us connect with people better.
“Displaying signs of mild embarrassment can actually be socially constructive and make people feel more sympathetic towards you in the face of your faux pas. I don’t necessarily think you need to take pains to hide it,” she told us that others value honesty and being genuine.
#16
Nobody changed at all.
I left Ireland three days after my leaving cert, and happened to move back a month before the reunion party. I hadn't seen a single person in the 10 intervening years, and everyone was basically *the exact same person* as they had been in school. Better-dressed, more confident, less awkward - but essentially the exact same people.
I had been dreading it, because I was never a popular kid in school - but it actually felt wonderful to be among those people again. After high school, you never really get to know anyone that well again. Add that to me having spent 10 years being an immigrant in various places, and that made re-connecting with these people extra sweet. All of the people with massive chips on their shoulders - they didn't show up. So the only people who were there were the ones who were as excited as I was.
There was one kid who changed massively, but he didn't come to the reunion. In school, he was the most dyslexic kid, worst at math, bottom of every class. His only love was making home-made bombs on his farm and blowing s**t up with them. He went to a college in Cornwall or Wales or something, that specialised in mining - because he figured that way he could work with explosives.
So fast-forward almost ten years, and I am finally getting my bachelor's degree. I took a bit longer than most people do, but I had just got the results from my last few exams and I had finally passed. I was basking in that elation when my phone rang and it's this guy. He just got his PhD for building a f*****g robot that goes into mines and fires f*****g lasers everywhere to make a 3D scan of the mine without endangering any humans. He built a robot with lasers on it. And had a PhD.
Way to take the wind out of my sails, James.
#17
There was a guy in my class that was a big meathead and was known to be a huge bully and womanizer. He is now an easy-going artist that hugs everyone and has a very zen demeanor. At our 10 year reunion, he told me how excited he was to atone and let everyone know that he has changed. I thought it was incredibly touching and my respect for him is fully restored.
#18
I saw me go from being a daily smoked-out stoner who breezed through each year of high school with average grades to a middle school science teacher who last year received teacher of the year honors. I bet they never saw that coming. B***hes.
Jessica Bertram 2 years ago (edited)
🥰🥰🥰 this person sounds a LOT like me. but i teach college, my grades were a bit better than average, and i got my Teacher of the Year a few years ago. but goth chick to math prof HAHAHAHA
By accepting our feelings of embarrassment and awkwardness, we also put a stop to them morphing into feelings of shame.
“What you want to be careful not to do is to let embarrassment morph into the more destructive self-conscious emotion of shame, where you feel so badly about a minor mistake that you start to think there is something wrong with you and feel the need to completely disappear and hide away yourself,” Vanessa said.
#19
The kid who was stealing motorcycles and selling them for parts is now a police officer. He was never accused or convicted of course but I knew that for a fact.
Let's hope people sometimes *do* change.
#20
Probably my wife (although we just had our 20 year reunion a couple years ago). We both went to middle and high school together, knew each other in a friendly way, you know, say hi when you pass in the hallway, but nothing more than that. Fast forward about 12 years, and I went on a blind date after coming off a glorious summer of bachelorhood. I saw her standing outside the bar, waiting for me, and I can still see it like it was yesterday. I kept on thinking, nah, this can't be her, I had seen a couple pictures but I was like this girl is drop dead gorgeous.
We hit it off that night, and within a couple weeks we were dating. About a month after that first date, we were talking about where we went to school, and she mentioned that she went to the same high school I had. So I asked her what year she graduated and lo and behold, it was the same year as me. "What middle school did you go to?" I asked. Once again, same as mine. She had our high school yearbook from our senior year in her closet, so she brought it out and we looked up our pictures. "Wait a second, you're <so and so>?". I was in shock, in high school she was someone that was bullied on a lot because of her looks. But here I was looking at this gorgeous blonde, who was just stunning. We brought out her middle school year book, and that is when it pretty much hit us that fate had brought us together. There, in faded yellow marker, she had highlighted my name. The only boy in our entire class that she highlighted was mine. We still don't really know why, but she did, and it was the like the God of Fates opened up the clouds and sent a beam of light upon us.
The best part was, my nickname starts with "Crazy". I was a party animal, but I was getting near 30, and I had been dating/hanging/whatever many a crazy chick over the last 10 years. All of them were pretty big into the party life themselves. She however, was grounded. She had a good job, dressed way above my pay grade at the time, and just was a good person that had a good family. She turned my life around, and while it hasn't all been roses, we have now been married for close to 10 years and have two wonderful kids. And most importantly, I still look at her almost every day and think how lucky I am to have such a beautiful woman, both inside and out.
P.S. When she first joined Facebook way back in the day, I was already on it and had a lot of friends from high school. I made a post linking to her Facebook and just said, hey, if you remember <so and so>, we got married a few years ago so she needs some friends on here. My post was inundated with posts from high school friends, "that is <so and so>!!", "wow <so and so> you look so different", "No way that is <so and so>", including some of the very people that bullied her when she was younger. I am extremely proud of my wife for the woman that she is, both to myself and our kids. And I'm even more proud to know that this girl that grew up getting bullied because of her looks got the last laugh.
cadena kuhn 2 years ago
After college when myspace got big I changed my location to my home town. I got a msg from a guy says damn where were girls like u when I lived there. I responded 3 seats behind u on the bus.
#21
There was a girl in my class who was not comfortable in her body. She acted like a boy, talked like a boy, and always wanted to do boy things. She got made fun of. A lot. Meanly. Kids are a**holes.
I went to elementary through 12th with her, so I knew her for a long time. I'd call her my friend, mostly because we were always nice to each other, but we never saw each other out of school.
10-year comes and now he's living life as a man. Not everyone from my podunk little school saw this as a good thing (mostly the ones who still live in our home town), but most of us were happy for him.
He's on Facebook now (my 10-year was just as Facebook was spilling into the masses) and is confident and is a regular person, comfortable in his skin. Just living life.
#22
Definitely the smelly kid. He wasn't actually smelly, but the routine beatings and teasing definitely took the toll on this guy. He was just...non-functionally weird.
He apparently blossomed in college and ended up in law school. He became a lawyer for abused women, doing orders of protection and whatnot. He said his motivation was to stand up to bullies, so that no one had to endure what he did.
The next year I got laid off due to budget cuts and opened up my own law firm, which failed. My life's back to being in the s**tter, but the reunion stands out as my high water mark.
#23
A dude that I saw drop acid in class on multiple occasions had become a youth preacher. The girl voted best looking had become a chain-smoking drunk who had somehow aged 30 years in a decade. The goth girl that I would sometimes smoke weed and talk about John Waters movies with had become some kind of Stepford wife.
A lot of people seemed genuinely shocked that I hadn't been stabbed to death in a back alley somewhere. Never realized I had such a reputation in high school :S
#25
Two [passed away], one became disabled after a car accident, a couple of them came out as gay, one became a super successful entrepreneur and HEAPS got really fat.
Meanwhile, I got a haircut.
Liam Walsh 2 years ago
I don't know any that became an entrepreneur but one was a police officer killed in a car accident going home from work on new year's eve and another was stabbed at the airport they worked at. I feel sad about that a lot as they were both lovely people.
#26
I knew guy who failed all his math courses and had me tutor him in math then he became a mathematician guess I was a great teacher
Craig Becker 2 years ago
A lot of people give up on math because, frankly, most HS math teachers suck.
#27
It's only been 5 years since I graduated and one of the girls in my class is a freaking rocket engineer. Working for nasa.
Like what. She used to cry about that douchebag she was dating. We did yoga in PE and talked about stupid highschool girl things.
And to think if I'd actually seriously applied myself It would have been possible for me too. good on her.
Jason Leaf 2 years ago
It's never too late to start applying yourself. Van Gogh was thirty when he began to paint.
#28
The most popular and best-looking girl (biggest b***h, really) in my class weighed about 220 and was pregnant with kid #5. From head cheerleader on her way to UW, to college dropout stay-at-home mom. I probably *could* have enjoyed seeing that more, but I'm not sure how off the top of my head.
Yeah, you heard 2 years ago (edited)
Being a stay at home mom isn't necessarily a mark of failure. Maybe she was very happy with a lovely family and a supportive man.
#29
One girl I went to high school with is now a guy I went to high school with. It's an all girls school.
Whatshername 2 years ago
So... that didn't cure them/s (are you reading this, people who keep thinking it's a disease?!)
#30
Skinny nerdy guy got busted for selling a couple hundred thousand dollars worth of adobe software in college and spent 15 months in prison. He came out super buff.
What do you think ?
Foxxy (The Original) 2 years ago
I would NEVER ever even consider going to a school reunion. Not even sure if it's really a thing in Australia. Anyway, that part of my life is in my past and it can stay that way. School was a horrible experience for me and I certainly don't want to waste my time on reliving it.
TheDivineMsM 2 years ago
Same Foxxy. I'm in America and passed my 10th and 20th because I knew it would just be a competition of how successful everyone became or didn't become. No thanks- I don't need to have anyone validate my life or my journey.
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Joseph Bresett 2 years ago
It is sad that almost all of these post have comments about the girls got fat and mostly comments on appearance
Broderik Craig 2 years ago
I was about to say the same thing. Apparently the e mean girls are fat and the shy girls are hot and everyone is just as shallow as they were when they were teens
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Buncil 1 year ago
You sound like someone who didn't suffer at hands of others at school.
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Joshua Moon 2 years ago
Won't get invited to my reunion. I dropped out. Got my HSED in jail. Started a trade job. Ended up getting a bachelor's degree in welding. I'm now the lead fabricator and designer at my job and build critical lift fixtures. I'm satisfied.
Eda Aitsen 2 years ago (edited)
That is the exact reason why I never go to school reunions - judgements and comparisons. Always. I do not need that kind of s**t.
LinkTheHylian 2 years ago
I know many of the people I went to high school with were parents before their mid-20s, yet they hadn't really matured so were basically kids with smaller kids. A couple were parents before we left, and now they're all in their mid-30s with kids preparing to entire high school themselves, but the maturity of my ex-classmates is still questionable.
LinkTheHylian 2 years ago
As for myself, I was the outcast. Found out I suffered from depression while I was in college, put on weight while bouncing from one retail job to the next, and I've been social distancing since before it was cool. On the upside, I am working on the weight thing, and it's insane how much more expensive it is to eat healthily.
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GB 2 years ago
When I was in highschool my group of friends included this really sweet shy guy who was a few years older than me. While the rest of us were drinking, smoking, and taking drugs, he abstained from it all. He was pretty innocent and, though he was super cute, he never had a girlfriend. Ironically, he was in a really cool Ska punk band. We didn't stay in touch after highschool but fast forward a few years and suddenly he's world famous--Tim Armstrong of Rancid and Transplants.
Joseph Bresett 2 years ago
Rancid is awesome lucky you to have met Tim Armstrong he is a great vocalist
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Izzy Curer 2 years ago (edited)
I hate the 'quiet-kid' meme. People talk about them almost as if they don't exist, or as if they aren't real, and then they're shocked when they find out they can talk and are actually confident. Maybe they just didn't like you very much. Or maybe they didn't like having to be there. Same goes for the ones who they're saying dressed-down in high school, but who dress proffessionally now as an adult. As if they were 'visually quiet'. Seems like they're usually referring to the girls, here. "But she was so hot!"
Moezzzz 2 years ago
I went to one reunion. Everyone thought I'd be running the local shoe store (I was the assistant manager while in high school). Sooo, basically they thought I'd go no where in life. I showed up with a degree in science, being a house supervisor for a hospital (as well as an ER/Trauma RN), married and with two sons, so sticking that to them was pretty satisfying. Didn't bother going to any more. They're all awful
Huddo's sister 2 years ago
So many were just people surprised that people were more successful and happy after getting away from the toxic high school bully situation.
Broderik Craig 2 years ago
Take it from a college student, highschool is a blip on the radar. The only people who care about high school 5 years later are the ones who peaked in highschool
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ZeroCapacity 2 years ago
Never received an invite to any school reunions. Probably because no one knew what had happened to me. I dropped off the face of the earth after school and only resurfaced recently.
ADumpsterFire 2 years ago
"people's looks changed in a decade or more" - most of theses submissions.
Anthony Parisi 2 years ago
I've often wondered how many of the rich, mean kids stilled lived off their daddy's dime!!
Marie Dahme 2 years ago
I hated my high school years. I was miserable, had no friends but I did academically very well. hated lunchtime because I dreaded sitting near anyone. eventually started bringing a sack lunch and hiding in the library. I was found one day the librarian Mrs. Hatton. She befriended me and had a major impact on my life. We talked about books and poetry during lunch. Eventually I became a library aide and helped out in the library and learned the Dewey decimal system and how to use the card catalog like a pro. A few years ago I looked her up out of the blue. The obituary for Caroline Hatton was amazing. She was in the military and jumped out of planes and traveled! I wish I knew at the time these things about her. All we did was talk about me and my dysfunctional family. I cried. Not only because I missed her but so much of her I never knew about. only would gone to a reunion for her. The rest of the class Hanna Wyoming can F off! I am successful out of state and happy 😃
Rannveig Ess 2 years ago
Sigh. Might as well just go read Reddit since this is all I see here.....
Jason Marin 2 years ago
I couldn't go to a highschool reunion even if I wanted to. For reasons unknown to me, when I was younger, I was sent to different private schools that didn't really teach me anything. They just taught me stuff I already knew. Five years after I graduated from a private highschool. I got an e-mail where I was invited to a highschool reunion. I had to turn it down due to the fact that because I was in different private schools, I would find it a bit awkward to attend and talk to people I've never met.
Elizabeth Line 2 years ago
My 10 year reunion was a lonely affair...my whole class was there. I wasn't surprised to see that I had changed a lot since high school. >.> I had to do ISP so yeah I was the whole of my Reunion....man can't wait for my 30 year to introduce my husband to myself!
Ruth Jacobs 2 years ago
I was shy so according to this I must be hot now. And my bullies, they'll be fat. I don't need to go to a reunion. I never would anyway, I didn't like school and don't ever wish to revisit it.
Rens 2 years ago
I left the country just before my 10 years reunion; I hated high school, some of the worst years of my life. For a while I looked at how everybody was doing, using Facebook. It was checking to see how many people died, and even worse when they died of COVID. It's been over 30 years since high school, I certainly never believed I'd end up where I am now: disabled, chronically ill and unable to work. The only joy was that everybody turned 50 before I did 😆
Jason Marin 1 year ago
I received an email many, many years ago to my high school graduation but had to decline. The reason for this is because halfway through 3rd grade, I was sent to different private schools so to me, it would have been awkward to go to a graduation and hang around a bunch of people I didn't know.
GadgetGirl 1 year ago
I am only friends with two people I went to high school with. And I married one. When I asked the other if he was going to go to the reunion, his words were "No, I'd rather spend that money hanging out with friends". Bob was always the wise one.
Suck it Trebek 1 year ago
One of my best guy friends was gay. He wasn't out in high school but it wasn't hard to guess and he was terrorized. I was not popular but for some reason all the popular girls were super mean to me. I'm in my late 40s and I can still tell you things they said to me that left scars. By the time the 10 year rolled around my friend and I blossomed and had fantastic lives. The only reason we went was because we KNEW we were better than all those a******s. We were petty as s**t too. If it was someone who made our lives miserable were not nice to them at all. This one girl was so hot in high school thin, gorgeous hair, awesome clothes perfect make up. The works. She was a c*nt to me. Time had not been kind, weight gain, huge bags under her eyes, dull hair. It was as if everything she had going for her was gone. She actually came up to talk to me. So when she told me how much she liked my shoes. I smiled cruelly said "Thanks, they're worth more than your life" turned and walked away.
Tjoori Vids 1 year ago
Arrived to my reunion in punky yellow and black striped pants, a raggedy T-shirt and a pink satin coat with rhinestones on it. Oh, yeah. And about 40kg lighter. 90% of my class didn't recognize me, nor did my teacher. Next reunion I just happened to be in town, so I went, but had to go home the next day. When I turned down a drink, they were like "What's it matter?" "Can't be drunk for my flight." "Pff, just relax and sleep on the plane." "Mhm. Pass. I'm the pilot."
Lacia Lew 2 years ago
Pretty sad that most of these just talked about appearances, how this or that bullied nerds got successful, how this or that jock got fat, and vice versa. I haven't had my 10th yet but I won't be attending. I don't need more people invalidating the life I am already satisfied with. (Looking at you and your unrealistic expectations, mom...)
ConfiscatedGrape 2 years ago
Never went to mine, why would I want to see the assholes who bullied me all 9years straight. I'm almost 40 and still struggling with my self esteem.
neil mason 2 years ago
been 40 years since I left....and I haven't been to a single reunion, don't wish too either... BUT I am going to my Junior school 44th reunion - they were REAL friends
Cathy Hurd 2 years ago
There isn't a person I went to school with that I have any interest in seeing, not one. I also get great joy in the fact that the teachers I had are no longer with us.
Vishy 2 years ago
We had a school reunion and the only topic discussed was who was earning his much. Me and and my friend left the party and went to his home. An hour later half the gang lands up at his home with drinks and food. Best party we had. We two still get nasty mails from the organizers.
Carol Emory 2 years ago
I've never gone to a high school reunion, but my friend posted pictures of it. Our graduating class was approximately 1200 students. Of that number, only about 40 showed up to the reunion. All the time I was looking to fit in to the popular crowd and none of them showed up. You know who did...the kids that didn't care about status or popularity. The ones that accepted people for who they are. The only reason I never showed....I was 3000 miles away and broke as heck. That's why I asked my friend for the photos.
Mad McQueen 2 years ago
Nothing drastic. I was Just the "ally sheedy breakfast club"girl type in school. Just hung back a lot. 5 year reunion I rocked it. Confidence. Great bf (now ex). 10 year reunion still rocked it but was having surgery two days later for gall stones. Everyone was trying to memorialize a guy that wasn't dead and he showed up. We were friends in school and I used to help shoot videos for adds for his rubber masks he was selling. He came up an told me I was the best at it because I had an eye for that. I wasn't great and Uber artistic then. But I've been published (artwork) in some books and such. I guess being quiet I heard a lot of gossip that people didn't want to get out. Footballers. Cheerleaders (posted another reunion story about the b@@@h cheerleader from 5 yr reunion before). Just turned into average job married people who didn't like their lives. I'm happy. No kids. Do and go where I like.
Laurel Knight 1 year ago
I have been to many high school reunions. No competition.. just happy to see each other in person and still alive.
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Alexandra Grey 1 year ago
The day of my 10 year reunion I was in the field training for my third deployment. At the time of my 20 year reunion I was preparing to retire from the Army. As far as I know, I was the only person in my class who had joined the military. I would have had nothing in common with and nothing to talk about with anyone. I didn't bother going.
Doodles1983 1 year ago
Most of the attendees are people who still care about HS. Were the popular kids, and/or the bullies. And still are…! Also known as the people I see no point wasting my time on or with.
Lora Burke-Mulkey 1 year ago
10 yr all drunk and trying to hook up with someone, 20 yr comparing wallets and only getting tipsy, 35 yr all so happy to see each other, no puffing up, showing pics of kids and grandkids, and talking about how expensive reunion was and mediocre the food was, all went home by 10 or 11 pm hahaha
Ash Conner 1 year ago
I hope everyone I went to school with is doing good and still growing everyday as a person. School is School. Kids are not developed and do stupid things. We all do stupid things as kids. Now what isn't cool is if someone at their 20 year reunion is still immature and bullies Co workers. Then that is truly an obnoxious person.
P.L. Packer 1 year ago
I hated high school. I also live in the same county I went to school in. Raised my kids here and they are going to the same schools I did. As are my grandkids! My graduating class just had it's 50 year reunion, I didn't attend. The people I liked in high school are still my friends and I see them around. I don't need to pay a couple hundred dollars for an inferior meal or listen to speeches from people I didn't like and who didn't like me. I did ok after school. Didn't go to college but became a network software engineer for a Fortune 500 telco (2nd largest in North America) and worked there for 25+ years. I got to travel around the US a lot on the company's dime, met interesting people and learned a lot about communications.
P.C. 1 year ago
This is why I’m homeschooled, this is why I’m homeschooled ^^ -and friendless…. (Not really i have some friends from church and musical theater…) actually, I only have 2-4 friends, but it has nothing to do with my lack of public education, rather it’s my introverted personality. INTP. And no, my sister is also homeschooled and a big extrovert who’s friends with literally everyone she meets. All the musical theater kids (like, 100 of them) plus the adults in charge (add 30-40), and then friends from church (20-30). Yerp
Marcus Lynch 1 year ago
Went to one and only one reunion. 10 years. Former high school football players out sitting on the back of MY truck drinking beer in the parking lot. I moved on. They dug in.
LibrarianJanet 1 year ago
Went to my 10 yr reunion. Best transformation I saw was the surly, punk, defiant a**hole who turned into a career U.S. Marine.
Diane Peterson 1 year ago
I loved going to school, but hated all the meanness, people making fun of me for 4 solid years. It started in 9th grade, after having back to back knee surgeries. I had terrible scar's on my legs, and everyone thought it was hilarious to call me out on them. I also had problems walking and my kneecaps would dislocate on occasion.One of my good friends/used to be friend, announced to the whole locker room one day, boy I'm sure glad I don't have those scars on my legs! Now we had been to school for 8 years together, and went to the same church and had the same catechism classes together. What a friend huh? The final straw was one winter day the sidewalks were completely filled with ice. Of course I fell and got really hurt. My neighbor/old BF, approached me laughing his head off and saying I know I shouldn't laugh but it looked so funny. He proceeded to step over me and my books and go into the building. How could you not offer to help me get up? My knees were bleeding too. Just cruel!
Hypoxia Smurf 2 years ago
Reunion? Where? My USA 9-12 grade years (usually considered the High School era) were spent at five different public schools, a juvenile hall semester, with graduation at an adult high half the state away. Reunion? Ha!
Lucky2BAlive 2 years ago
I have never been to any of the reunions. Almost no one but the clique people showed up at the last one Maybe 20 out of the hundreds. I heard it ended at a local bar. People didn’t like me then, or didn’t know I existed other than verbal target practice. I think I was most likely to be forgotten. Why in Gods name would I put myself there again. Maybe I will go to the 40th. Do a whole last man standing thing. *L*
Viv Hart 2 years ago
We had our 50th Anniv. Reunion of the Class of '62, where I met the guy on whom I'd had the biggest secret crush, I was very bashful as a teen. Didn't recognise him any more, except his miischievous eyes hadn't changed, and he remembered me! We are now great email friends.
shado 2 years ago
Yes, high school was enough of a d*ck-measuring competition that I didn't bother wasting my time on reunions with the same kind of low-brow people that populated the nightmares of my youth - seems most a$$holes can and do remain a$$holes, and sadly proof of that can easily be found on even a moderate dive into Facebook on any given day!
Jennifer Brown 2 years ago
There were some changes in my class, one girl who was always sweet and funny but overweight lost the weight and looked fabulous. I was appalled by some of my friends who had 5-6 kids. Most of them are divorced. I have never married which was probably a huge surprise as I always had a boyfriend thru ought high school. I don't have kids either.
katie trondsen 2 years ago
My husband is so different from the person he was in highschool. WHen we were first dating I went to his moms place and saw a framed picture on the wall, i thought to myself woa whos the ugly girl? Greasy long curls, insane amount of acne, braces and crooked teeth and very over weight. Now husband told me that was his high school picture lol I would NEVER have guessed
Terry Tobias 2 years ago
I passed on my 5 year reunion because it was just a picnic in a park and too soon after high school. I went to my 10 year but didn't have much fun. It was ok but my close friends from school didn't show up and most people brought a date so there wasn't much socializing and nobody danced. My 20 year was great! I had so much fun! Most people came without dates so it was easy to reminisce, especially with people that I knew from elementary school (we had a huge school district back then and a number of schools feeding into one high school). The guys didn't age as well as the girls. One guy that I knew from chorus and the plays came to me as I was talking to mutual friends and said to them "Isn't she beautiful now!". I had started to come into my own when I was about 16 and grew as a person in the 20 years since graduation. The woman just looked at him and said "Terry was always beautiful." Thank you Charlotte... you were always a good friend!
Parmeisan 2 years ago
I have no idea if we had a reunion. I still know lots of people from high school but none of us were popular. I have to wonder how they're expected to find and contact everyone, with many having different names and many having moved away? We had 300 kids in my graduating class so maybe there were half a dozen mini-reunions. I wasn't invited to any of them :P
Kiryn Silverwing 2 years ago
I didn't bother going to my 10th at all, and I'm not sure I'll bother with my 20th this year either. I didn't really know many people in my high school (just kept my head down and did my schoolwork to try to avoid bullies) and I can just meet up with my few friends directly.
Hypoxia Smurf 2 years ago
I knew of no reunions for any of the several high schools I attended (including a Juvenile Hall semester). Friends from earlier grades had all dispersed, so we had no get-togethers either. Life proceeds.
Foxxy (The Original) 2 years ago
I would NEVER ever even consider going to a school reunion. Not even sure if it's really a thing in Australia. Anyway, that part of my life is in my past and it can stay that way. School was a horrible experience for me and I certainly don't want to waste my time on reliving it.
TheDivineMsM 2 years ago
Same Foxxy. I'm in America and passed my 10th and 20th because I knew it would just be a competition of how successful everyone became or didn't become. No thanks- I don't need to have anyone validate my life or my journey.
Load More Replies... Joseph Bresett 2 years ago
It is sad that almost all of these post have comments about the girls got fat and mostly comments on appearance
Broderik Craig 2 years ago
I was about to say the same thing. Apparently the e mean girls are fat and the shy girls are hot and everyone is just as shallow as they were when they were teens
Load More Replies... Buncil 1 year ago
You sound like someone who didn't suffer at hands of others at school.
Load More Replies... Joshua Moon 2 years ago
Won't get invited to my reunion. I dropped out. Got my HSED in jail. Started a trade job. Ended up getting a bachelor's degree in welding. I'm now the lead fabricator and designer at my job and build critical lift fixtures. I'm satisfied.
Eda Aitsen 2 years ago (edited)
That is the exact reason why I never go to school reunions - judgements and comparisons. Always. I do not need that kind of s**t.
LinkTheHylian 2 years ago
I know many of the people I went to high school with were parents before their mid-20s, yet they hadn't really matured so were basically kids with smaller kids. A couple were parents before we left, and now they're all in their mid-30s with kids preparing to entire high school themselves, but the maturity of my ex-classmates is still questionable.
LinkTheHylian 2 years ago
As for myself, I was the outcast. Found out I suffered from depression while I was in college, put on weight while bouncing from one retail job to the next, and I've been social distancing since before it was cool. On the upside, I am working on the weight thing, and it's insane how much more expensive it is to eat healthily.
Load More Replies... GB 2 years ago
When I was in highschool my group of friends included this really sweet shy guy who was a few years older than me. While the rest of us were drinking, smoking, and taking drugs, he abstained from it all. He was pretty innocent and, though he was super cute, he never had a girlfriend. Ironically, he was in a really cool Ska punk band. We didn't stay in touch after highschool but fast forward a few years and suddenly he's world famous--Tim Armstrong of Rancid and Transplants.
Joseph Bresett 2 years ago
Rancid is awesome lucky you to have met Tim Armstrong he is a great vocalist
Load More Replies... Izzy Curer 2 years ago (edited)
I hate the 'quiet-kid' meme. People talk about them almost as if they don't exist, or as if they aren't real, and then they're shocked when they find out they can talk and are actually confident. Maybe they just didn't like you very much. Or maybe they didn't like having to be there. Same goes for the ones who they're saying dressed-down in high school, but who dress proffessionally now as an adult. As if they were 'visually quiet'. Seems like they're usually referring to the girls, here. "But she was so hot!"
Moezzzz 2 years ago
I went to one reunion. Everyone thought I'd be running the local shoe store (I was the assistant manager while in high school). Sooo, basically they thought I'd go no where in life. I showed up with a degree in science, being a house supervisor for a hospital (as well as an ER/Trauma RN), married and with two sons, so sticking that to them was pretty satisfying. Didn't bother going to any more. They're all awful
Huddo's sister 2 years ago
So many were just people surprised that people were more successful and happy after getting away from the toxic high school bully situation.
Broderik Craig 2 years ago
Take it from a college student, highschool is a blip on the radar. The only people who care about high school 5 years later are the ones who peaked in highschool
Load More Replies... ZeroCapacity 2 years ago
Never received an invite to any school reunions. Probably because no one knew what had happened to me. I dropped off the face of the earth after school and only resurfaced recently.
ADumpsterFire 2 years ago
"people's looks changed in a decade or more" - most of theses submissions.
Anthony Parisi 2 years ago
I've often wondered how many of the rich, mean kids stilled lived off their daddy's dime!!
Marie Dahme 2 years ago
I hated my high school years. I was miserable, had no friends but I did academically very well. hated lunchtime because I dreaded sitting near anyone. eventually started bringing a sack lunch and hiding in the library. I was found one day the librarian Mrs. Hatton. She befriended me and had a major impact on my life. We talked about books and poetry during lunch. Eventually I became a library aide and helped out in the library and learned the Dewey decimal system and how to use the card catalog like a pro. A few years ago I looked her up out of the blue. The obituary for Caroline Hatton was amazing. She was in the military and jumped out of planes and traveled! I wish I knew at the time these things about her. All we did was talk about me and my dysfunctional family. I cried. Not only because I missed her but so much of her I never knew about. only would gone to a reunion for her. The rest of the class Hanna Wyoming can F off! I am successful out of state and happy 😃
Rannveig Ess 2 years ago
Sigh. Might as well just go read Reddit since this is all I see here.....
Jason Marin 2 years ago
I couldn't go to a highschool reunion even if I wanted to. For reasons unknown to me, when I was younger, I was sent to different private schools that didn't really teach me anything. They just taught me stuff I already knew. Five years after I graduated from a private highschool. I got an e-mail where I was invited to a highschool reunion. I had to turn it down due to the fact that because I was in different private schools, I would find it a bit awkward to attend and talk to people I've never met.
Elizabeth Line 2 years ago
My 10 year reunion was a lonely affair...my whole class was there. I wasn't surprised to see that I had changed a lot since high school. >.> I had to do ISP so yeah I was the whole of my Reunion....man can't wait for my 30 year to introduce my husband to myself!
Ruth Jacobs 2 years ago
I was shy so according to this I must be hot now. And my bullies, they'll be fat. I don't need to go to a reunion. I never would anyway, I didn't like school and don't ever wish to revisit it.
Rens 2 years ago
I left the country just before my 10 years reunion; I hated high school, some of the worst years of my life. For a while I looked at how everybody was doing, using Facebook. It was checking to see how many people died, and even worse when they died of COVID. It's been over 30 years since high school, I certainly never believed I'd end up where I am now: disabled, chronically ill and unable to work. The only joy was that everybody turned 50 before I did 😆
Jason Marin 1 year ago
I received an email many, many years ago to my high school graduation but had to decline. The reason for this is because halfway through 3rd grade, I was sent to different private schools so to me, it would have been awkward to go to a graduation and hang around a bunch of people I didn't know.
GadgetGirl 1 year ago
I am only friends with two people I went to high school with. And I married one. When I asked the other if he was going to go to the reunion, his words were "No, I'd rather spend that money hanging out with friends". Bob was always the wise one.
Suck it Trebek 1 year ago
One of my best guy friends was gay. He wasn't out in high school but it wasn't hard to guess and he was terrorized. I was not popular but for some reason all the popular girls were super mean to me. I'm in my late 40s and I can still tell you things they said to me that left scars. By the time the 10 year rolled around my friend and I blossomed and had fantastic lives. The only reason we went was because we KNEW we were better than all those a******s. We were petty as s**t too. If it was someone who made our lives miserable were not nice to them at all. This one girl was so hot in high school thin, gorgeous hair, awesome clothes perfect make up. The works. She was a c*nt to me. Time had not been kind, weight gain, huge bags under her eyes, dull hair. It was as if everything she had going for her was gone. She actually came up to talk to me. So when she told me how much she liked my shoes. I smiled cruelly said "Thanks, they're worth more than your life" turned and walked away.
Tjoori Vids 1 year ago
Arrived to my reunion in punky yellow and black striped pants, a raggedy T-shirt and a pink satin coat with rhinestones on it. Oh, yeah. And about 40kg lighter. 90% of my class didn't recognize me, nor did my teacher. Next reunion I just happened to be in town, so I went, but had to go home the next day. When I turned down a drink, they were like "What's it matter?" "Can't be drunk for my flight." "Pff, just relax and sleep on the plane." "Mhm. Pass. I'm the pilot."
Lacia Lew 2 years ago
Pretty sad that most of these just talked about appearances, how this or that bullied nerds got successful, how this or that jock got fat, and vice versa. I haven't had my 10th yet but I won't be attending. I don't need more people invalidating the life I am already satisfied with. (Looking at you and your unrealistic expectations, mom...)
ConfiscatedGrape 2 years ago
Never went to mine, why would I want to see the assholes who bullied me all 9years straight. I'm almost 40 and still struggling with my self esteem.
neil mason 2 years ago
been 40 years since I left....and I haven't been to a single reunion, don't wish too either... BUT I am going to my Junior school 44th reunion - they were REAL friends
Cathy Hurd 2 years ago
There isn't a person I went to school with that I have any interest in seeing, not one. I also get great joy in the fact that the teachers I had are no longer with us.
Vishy 2 years ago
We had a school reunion and the only topic discussed was who was earning his much. Me and and my friend left the party and went to his home. An hour later half the gang lands up at his home with drinks and food. Best party we had. We two still get nasty mails from the organizers.
Carol Emory 2 years ago
I've never gone to a high school reunion, but my friend posted pictures of it. Our graduating class was approximately 1200 students. Of that number, only about 40 showed up to the reunion. All the time I was looking to fit in to the popular crowd and none of them showed up. You know who did...the kids that didn't care about status or popularity. The ones that accepted people for who they are. The only reason I never showed....I was 3000 miles away and broke as heck. That's why I asked my friend for the photos.
Mad McQueen 2 years ago
Nothing drastic. I was Just the "ally sheedy breakfast club"girl type in school. Just hung back a lot. 5 year reunion I rocked it. Confidence. Great bf (now ex). 10 year reunion still rocked it but was having surgery two days later for gall stones. Everyone was trying to memorialize a guy that wasn't dead and he showed up. We were friends in school and I used to help shoot videos for adds for his rubber masks he was selling. He came up an told me I was the best at it because I had an eye for that. I wasn't great and Uber artistic then. But I've been published (artwork) in some books and such. I guess being quiet I heard a lot of gossip that people didn't want to get out. Footballers. Cheerleaders (posted another reunion story about the b@@@h cheerleader from 5 yr reunion before). Just turned into average job married people who didn't like their lives. I'm happy. No kids. Do and go where I like.
Laurel Knight 1 year ago
I have been to many high school reunions. No competition.. just happy to see each other in person and still alive.
Load More Replies... Alexandra Grey 1 year ago
The day of my 10 year reunion I was in the field training for my third deployment. At the time of my 20 year reunion I was preparing to retire from the Army. As far as I know, I was the only person in my class who had joined the military. I would have had nothing in common with and nothing to talk about with anyone. I didn't bother going.
Doodles1983 1 year ago
Most of the attendees are people who still care about HS. Were the popular kids, and/or the bullies. And still are…! Also known as the people I see no point wasting my time on or with.
Lora Burke-Mulkey 1 year ago
10 yr all drunk and trying to hook up with someone, 20 yr comparing wallets and only getting tipsy, 35 yr all so happy to see each other, no puffing up, showing pics of kids and grandkids, and talking about how expensive reunion was and mediocre the food was, all went home by 10 or 11 pm hahaha
Ash Conner 1 year ago
I hope everyone I went to school with is doing good and still growing everyday as a person. School is School. Kids are not developed and do stupid things. We all do stupid things as kids. Now what isn't cool is if someone at their 20 year reunion is still immature and bullies Co workers. Then that is truly an obnoxious person.
P.L. Packer 1 year ago
I hated high school. I also live in the same county I went to school in. Raised my kids here and they are going to the same schools I did. As are my grandkids! My graduating class just had it's 50 year reunion, I didn't attend. The people I liked in high school are still my friends and I see them around. I don't need to pay a couple hundred dollars for an inferior meal or listen to speeches from people I didn't like and who didn't like me. I did ok after school. Didn't go to college but became a network software engineer for a Fortune 500 telco (2nd largest in North America) and worked there for 25+ years. I got to travel around the US a lot on the company's dime, met interesting people and learned a lot about communications.
P.C. 1 year ago
This is why I’m homeschooled, this is why I’m homeschooled ^^ -and friendless…. (Not really i have some friends from church and musical theater…) actually, I only have 2-4 friends, but it has nothing to do with my lack of public education, rather it’s my introverted personality. INTP. And no, my sister is also homeschooled and a big extrovert who’s friends with literally everyone she meets. All the musical theater kids (like, 100 of them) plus the adults in charge (add 30-40), and then friends from church (20-30). Yerp
Marcus Lynch 1 year ago
Went to one and only one reunion. 10 years. Former high school football players out sitting on the back of MY truck drinking beer in the parking lot. I moved on. They dug in.
LibrarianJanet 1 year ago
Went to my 10 yr reunion. Best transformation I saw was the surly, punk, defiant a**hole who turned into a career U.S. Marine.
Diane Peterson 1 year ago
I loved going to school, but hated all the meanness, people making fun of me for 4 solid years. It started in 9th grade, after having back to back knee surgeries. I had terrible scar's on my legs, and everyone thought it was hilarious to call me out on them. I also had problems walking and my kneecaps would dislocate on occasion.One of my good friends/used to be friend, announced to the whole locker room one day, boy I'm sure glad I don't have those scars on my legs! Now we had been to school for 8 years together, and went to the same church and had the same catechism classes together. What a friend huh? The final straw was one winter day the sidewalks were completely filled with ice. Of course I fell and got really hurt. My neighbor/old BF, approached me laughing his head off and saying I know I shouldn't laugh but it looked so funny. He proceeded to step over me and my books and go into the building. How could you not offer to help me get up? My knees were bleeding too. Just cruel!
Hypoxia Smurf 2 years ago
Reunion? Where? My USA 9-12 grade years (usually considered the High School era) were spent at five different public schools, a juvenile hall semester, with graduation at an adult high half the state away. Reunion? Ha!
Lucky2BAlive 2 years ago
I have never been to any of the reunions. Almost no one but the clique people showed up at the last one Maybe 20 out of the hundreds. I heard it ended at a local bar. People didn’t like me then, or didn’t know I existed other than verbal target practice. I think I was most likely to be forgotten. Why in Gods name would I put myself there again. Maybe I will go to the 40th. Do a whole last man standing thing. *L*
Viv Hart 2 years ago
We had our 50th Anniv. Reunion of the Class of '62, where I met the guy on whom I'd had the biggest secret crush, I was very bashful as a teen. Didn't recognise him any more, except his miischievous eyes hadn't changed, and he remembered me! We are now great email friends.
shado 2 years ago
Yes, high school was enough of a d*ck-measuring competition that I didn't bother wasting my time on reunions with the same kind of low-brow people that populated the nightmares of my youth - seems most a$$holes can and do remain a$$holes, and sadly proof of that can easily be found on even a moderate dive into Facebook on any given day!
Jennifer Brown 2 years ago
There were some changes in my class, one girl who was always sweet and funny but overweight lost the weight and looked fabulous. I was appalled by some of my friends who had 5-6 kids. Most of them are divorced. I have never married which was probably a huge surprise as I always had a boyfriend thru ought high school. I don't have kids either.
katie trondsen 2 years ago
My husband is so different from the person he was in highschool. WHen we were first dating I went to his moms place and saw a framed picture on the wall, i thought to myself woa whos the ugly girl? Greasy long curls, insane amount of acne, braces and crooked teeth and very over weight. Now husband told me that was his high school picture lol I would NEVER have guessed
Terry Tobias 2 years ago
I passed on my 5 year reunion because it was just a picnic in a park and too soon after high school. I went to my 10 year but didn't have much fun. It was ok but my close friends from school didn't show up and most people brought a date so there wasn't much socializing and nobody danced. My 20 year was great! I had so much fun! Most people came without dates so it was easy to reminisce, especially with people that I knew from elementary school (we had a huge school district back then and a number of schools feeding into one high school). The guys didn't age as well as the girls. One guy that I knew from chorus and the plays came to me as I was talking to mutual friends and said to them "Isn't she beautiful now!". I had started to come into my own when I was about 16 and grew as a person in the 20 years since graduation. The woman just looked at him and said "Terry was always beautiful." Thank you Charlotte... you were always a good friend!
Parmeisan 2 years ago
I have no idea if we had a reunion. I still know lots of people from high school but none of us were popular. I have to wonder how they're expected to find and contact everyone, with many having different names and many having moved away? We had 300 kids in my graduating class so maybe there were half a dozen mini-reunions. I wasn't invited to any of them :P
Kiryn Silverwing 2 years ago
I didn't bother going to my 10th at all, and I'm not sure I'll bother with my 20th this year either. I didn't really know many people in my high school (just kept my head down and did my schoolwork to try to avoid bullies) and I can just meet up with my few friends directly.
Hypoxia Smurf 2 years ago
I knew of no reunions for any of the several high schools I attended (including a Juvenile Hall semester). Friends from earlier grades had all dispersed, so we had no get-togethers either. Life proceeds.
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