Class Reunions

Did you have your class reunions from elementary, middle, high school and/or college? No, usually people just have college reunions... right?

How long ago was school? Did you remember anyone or did they remember you? These questions seem a bit sharp. Let's ease up a bit, shall we? If it happens that you have an "OK" relationship with your friends back in school, chances are that someone enthusiastic from the class is going to hold a gathering and you'd say yes. Get-togethers like that are about three things:

[Sharing/comparing/reconciling]

Let's not fool ourselves. Yes, everyone starts with story sharing and some catching up but as soon as it's out in the open, most of us can't help but do a little comparing for self-pitying or self-reassuring. It IS a major part of the reunion to check how others are doing. After all, we were "older kids" and then turned into "young adults". Starting a career makes the difference and before it happens, we were all students. Have you noticed the transformation for the bookworm who became the most talkative or the player who got married with children and is extra well-behaved? That's part of the fun.

What were you like as a student? Were you the party host or the invisible guy? Maybe you were the one that everyone thinks of when they need a solution or the one that made some awful deeds. Meeting your old pals again is definitely the right time to make it up to the people you once wronged. It's not a sign of weakness but courage and maturity.

Some continue the pursuit of advanced education, a master's or Ph.D., and some jumps straight to work. Wait a minute. Is there a third option? Yes, indeed there is- restart the school year or that entirely! That's a story for some other day though. Back to the point. No matter what the choice was then, never regret it. In hindsight, we always wanted to make a better decision for our past. It's all too late but at least we've grown to be smarter to see those mistakes now. The past is the present and the future is now. Don't let it happen again for the years to come.

[building network]

After G-day, new beginnings are set. Everyone went exploring their world. At first, we may think highly of ourselves and went on a solo flight. Sooner or later, we'd realize how puny we are even being an expert in our field. Humans are social animals. Yes, some are more difficult to get along but eventually, we all depend on one another. Here's an engineer who can't speak English to his foreign colleagues and an English teacher who works where he works. Tada~ The point is, out of tens of thousands of people, we met. Yes, this is cheesy but do not take for granted for the second chance. Cooperate and help a fellow classmate.

[anecdote]

What better ways to bring people together by talking about old secrets, hidden jokes, and debunking rumors! People like groups and in groups they make cliques. That's where things either get built up or fall down. It may be more important than it sounds to do so, too. It shows that the past is in fact over and it's ok to look back, this time perhaps, with a different angle, self-reflecting.

This article is dedicated to the class of 2012, Christ's College, a school that Andy was in for merely 6 months but was invited nonetheless. Thank you. Originally, it was full of personal reflection but then rearranged due to better reading.

#selfreflect