Please don’t laugh at the face I’m making, I was really drunk.

Lists are always fun. I’ve never been one to use them all that often, but I certainly enjoy reading them on other sites. You could say that I have gleaned a great deal of my present-day cache of useless knowledge from reading copious amounts of lists. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, really. I’d list the pros and cons, but, well, I’m too lazy.

Instead, I’ll slightly rip-off an old friend’s list format (her observations from the same reunion can be viewed here) and list some of the things that I managed to learn while I was attending my 10 Year High School reunion last weekend. Most of these are totally accidental.

• It’s totally okay if you don’t recognize everyone. We all realize that some of our former classmates have morphed into barely identifiable adults, but as much as someone changes physically, they’re still essentially the same, just like you are.
• Getting drunk with everyone now that you’re actually legally able to drink is no different than it was when you weren’t.
• You’re not going to get to say all the things you wanted to say to everyone you wanted to say them to, so don’t bother.
• Dynamics of relationships change over time, but the basic things that drew you together in the first place never seem to.
• All that anxiety and awkwardness that you thought was waiting for you when you met back up with people you hadn’t seen in a decade? Yeah, it was a figment of your imagination.
• If your spouse successfully navigates through all of the jargon, the tangles of old relationships and backslapping with their head intact, they’re an infinitely better person than you thought they were when you decided to marry them. Make sure you notify them of this at every opportunity. (I love you, dear.)
• You’re bound to remember the most inane minutiae about the people that you see. Be sure to tell them about it, loudly if it’s potentially embarrassing.
• If you decide to duck out on an event to spend some time alone with a small group of good friends, don’t for a minute think twice. The time you have will more than likely make up for all of the catching up you’ll miss out on with the greater group of people. You might just forge a lifelong memory or two in the process.
• Remember that person you really, really wanted to tell off? The one that did that thing that pissed you off all those years ago? The one that you spent the past decade stewing over, visualizing your chance at redemption over and over again? When your big chance comes, just say “fuck it” and buy them a beer.
• Those annoying tendencies that your friends had in high school? Yeah, they never grew out of them.
• Those annoying tendencies that you had in high school? They’re re-appear the instant you see anyone from high school.
• If you had a bad time or forgot to say something, there’s always the 20 year…(or the unofficial Taus, Hill, Sjol-endorsed 17 year reunion)