Remember high school? Do you remember the people in your class?
I’m not old. High school was only 19 years ago, and I’m saying that with a straight face, because I really do think that 19 years is not that long in the scheme of things. I also pride myself on having a a pretty fantastic memory. But seriously. Who the heck are these people Classmates.com keeps thinking I should remember?
I receive two or three emails a day with a subject line that goes something like this: “Remember Xavier McGillicuddy? Share your memories.” Xavier McGillicuddy? No. Actually, I don’t remember Xavier, nor do I have any memories to share about him.
I’m not saying I don’t remember anyone from high school. I remember a few people, and I’ve even friended some of them on Facebook. The thing is that I can’t put a face to most names from my high school class. It says nothing about the person these people are. I’m sure most of those people are pretty okay, and some of them are maybe even super fantastic.
I’m pretty sure that there are also probably a few hundred people out there who are getting emails that say “Remember Zahra Safavian? Share your memories about Zahra with your classmates.” And all of those people are thinking, “Who the heck is Zahra Safavian?”
So when someone I can’t remember sends me and the rest of my former classmates an email letting us know that our 20th high school reunion is nigh, is it any wonder that I think I’ll pass? And also, who the heck is this Debbie woman who’s planning it all? She must not have been on the Math Team. Not that I remember any of my teammates either.
All this is to say to all of you high school students out there that when your parents say “None of this will matter in 20 years.” Trust them. They know what they’re talking about.
Zahra, my 30th is this year! Wow. When I get a request that someone wants to friend me on FB and links me to our high school, I have to go back and look at the yearbook because even if I recognize the name, in most cases, the face (and body) does not match that of my memory! And I’m sure they can say the same about me!
Bonnie, that’s exactly what I used to do. But then a couple years ago when we were trying to plan for Azita I did a big purging of stuff and I threw away all my yearbooks. My reasoning was that I never really looked at them that often and I hated high school, so why hold on to them. I kind of regret it now though, because at the very least, Azita could one day look at it and laugh at the haircuts and clothes. Oh well.