Happiness – Glad; content; lucky; fortunate; apt; fitting.
I have been thinking of how I could explain how I feel today. I looked through my list of descriptive words and checked their definitions to see which ones explain my emotions. I am usually pretty good at saying how I feel, but today I find my words are lacking.
This weekend I attended my forty-fifth high school reunion. That is a long time and for most of us we haven’t seen each other in at least ten or more years. My first thought was, “I won’t be able to recognize anyone.” True, everyone had changed and most I had to double check their nametags.
After going through all of my yearbooks and reviewing the names and pictures I said, “I don’t know even half of these people.” The truth is that I knew them while in school, but I have forgotten so much of what happened during those dramatic personality growth years.
Why does it have to be so hard for teenagers to grow into adulthood? I know personally I had a difficult time. Teenagers often separate into groups that most meet their needs and miss out on so many other possibilities.
Clique – narrow circle of persons with common interests; a coterie.
Our social growth depends on our environment and the smaller our social group is, the more isolated our exposure becomes. Our religion, intelligence, and appearance often form boundaries of our social acceptance. Band, athletics or some other extracurricular activity limits us more. Finally, our social clique is formed, and moving out of that grouping is very unlikely.
The first class reunion I attended was at the ten year mark. Former students were still making their mark on the world, fighting for success and advancement in their carrier path. I didn’t enjoy the get-together very much. It seemed the same people were huddled in the same groups and we all limited ourselves to total enjoyment. Many didn’t even care to attend because they knew it would be the same atmosphere as high school.
At our twenty-five year reunion, many more friends attended and I found it to be a fun event. People mixed more aggressively no matter the clique we had been in during school. Some who we knew would succeed had done as expected; however, there had been some who had changed drastically. I found some whom I didn’t expect to move up in life had done very well, no longer hampered by preconceived restrictions.
We all go through these fazes no matter who we are or how hard we try to avoid them. I know that I worked hard to be open to everyone, or at least I thought I did at the time, yet there were many whom I never really knew. It was true back then and it is still true today. But, there is hope. Hope comes in the form of maturity.
Maturity – ripe; fully developed; come to suppuration; resulting from adult experience.
I believe the success of this reunion, after so many years, came due to our mutual maturity. All preconceived notions of social groupings had disappeared. I didn’t hear anyone talking about how successful they had become or how wealthy their husbands were. The model and cost of our cars didn’t matter, not even our looks mattered. We had all aged and looked like we were standing on the cliff of time.
Of the nearly two-hundred and fifty or three-hundred people attending, I was able to shake hands or hug about half. I visited with old friends of course, but I enjoyed speaking with many of those I had known but had never really sat down with before. No one remembered how shy and introverted I had been, or if they remembered they didn’t care. Only today’s meeting mattered and I think we all enjoyed the new association.
I still have my old friends, but now I have added new old friends. Still, there are friends from the past whom I want to get to know better. I hope that we can keep these new associations alive, for the friends we have from our early years are valuable. We were all designed by our like environment.
Living through the nuclear and cold war years, the assignation of John F. Kennedy and the shock to our country, the Viet Nam war, and most recently the devastation on 9-11, we have all experienced together what most of the world has only read about. How unique we are.
I guess you could say that we have shed the cliquish boundaries of our childhood only to have found a new barrier. We have stepped into the category of Senior Citizen with little effort. I hear people talking on television now, explaining how seniors are growing in number and demanding more than ever in the past. I say we have paved the way for the success of all of the younger people who have followed.
My class reunion this year was a blessing for me and I think it was for many of my friends. It proves that those stormy and difficult years of development had been of value. It told me that I could do anything I wanted and I succeeded. Life may be on the other side of the meridian, but it doesn’t mean it is time to stop living. The best is still ahead.
As we got into our cars and headed back to our homes, we had big smiles on our faces and our hearts had been refreshed with new blood. I don’t know when we will all meet again, but I hope it will be soon. There are still so many I need to shake hands with and give a big hug. Thanks to all for having been my friend.
Thanks to the planning committee, some pictured above.
