Hey everyone, I just came across a cool article regarding REUNION JITTERS! Anyone got them? Whether or not you feel anxious about attending, take a minute a read this. I think you'll feel a whole lot better!
High School Reunion Jitters -
Anyone who has been to a class reunion knows there is a certain amount of anxiety associated with attending a reunion. As the reunion approaches your mind becomes flooded with thoughts. Will there be anyone there I know? What if my old boyfriend or girlfriend is there? What if nobody remembers me? What if I don't recognize classmates or remember their names? What if I run into someone I didn't get along with in school? I've put on weight. I've gone gray. I've lost my hair. I'm not that successful.
Relax! You are not alone in these thoughts. Everyone else is having the same exact thoughts and reunion jitters. Don't let these thoughts get in the way of attending your class reunion.
Bottomline is we have all changed. So what! Your not 17 anymore. The laws of gravity and time catch up with all of us eventually. Changes are an inevitable fact of life. Accept yourself for who you are. Be yourself. Celebrate life's changes. Relax and go and have a good time. Letting such negative thoughts impact your decision to attend may result in you missing out on a wonderful time.
Focus your thoughts instead on the positive aspects of attending. This is an opportunity to go out and have some fun once every 5 or 10 years, renew old friendships, catch up with each others lives, to celebrate your youth and feel young again (if only for a moment), to reminise about the good old days, to share time with old friends while we are still able to, to celebrate our changes. You will quickly find that people are not there to judge you but are there for the same reasons you are to have a great time and touch their past. It can be a wonderfully rejuvinating experience. When it is over we can take comfort in the fact that we have all changed, we've all gone down different paths in life but that we all still share a common bond and enjoy a good party.
Here's some tips to help you relax at your class reunion:
- Go with an attitude of having fun.
- Be yourself and be proud of who you are.
- Dress comfortably.
- Remember everyone will have changed. You're not alone.
- Hookup with a few close classmates beforehand and go to reunion together.
- It's perfectly ok to not remember somebody. Our memories all fade. That's why name tags were invented!
TOP 10 REASONS NOT TO MISS YOUR CLASS REUNION
1. You'll laugh, cry, and reminisce with some of your old friends.
2. It's OK to not remember someone. That's why name tags were invented!
3. Feel better realizing you are not the only one who has been married, divorced, married, divorced and still looking.
4. Rekindle or begin new relationships.
5. Show everyone how sexy bald is!
6. Even if you had some negative experiences in high school, don't fret about it, you'll most likely laugh about it now.
7. Enjoy an evening out without the kids.
8. Use the reunion as an opportunity to diet and shape up.
9. Humor the reunion committee; they usually are a bunch of deluded die hards who think everyone should show up to appreciate their efforts.
10. And finally, studies have shown that those who were initially hesitant about attending their reunions, discover it was the event that they wouldn't have missed!
NO EXCUSES!!!
If you are NOT coming to the reunion, you need a good excuse and a note from your Mom. The following reasons have been tried and are UNacceptable:
Excuse #1: I've gained a lot of weight!
Rebuttal: Look around!! I doubt any of us could get back into our jeans from high school any more.
Excuse #2: I'm a different person than I was in high school.
Rebuttal: Lucky for you, we ALL are. Let's face it: we could only have improved.
Excuse #3: I don't look as good as I'd like. I (choose one or more) am bald, have wrinkles, saddlebags, grey hair and no one will recognize me.
Rebuttal: Guess what! You won't recognize anyone else, either. Our whole class looks like a "before" photo in a plastic surgery ad (just kidding).
Excuse #4: I'm not successful. I'm not (choose one or more) a lawyer, a doctor or rich.
Rebuttal: You'll be pleasantly surprised to find how much everyone has matured. We may be plump and wrinkled (see Excuse #3, above) but we're not stupid. Money is not success. You have found success when you are happy doing what you're doing!
Excuse #5: I was not in a popular clique in school.
Rebuttal: Now that we're older and smarter, those cliques have dissolved just like the superficialities they were based on. The only cliques you'll notice at the reunion will be the sound of your joints as you walk around.
Excuse #6: It seems like all the classmates drink alcohol at the reunion.
Rebuttal: Not all of us drink - plain and simple. Some of us only have a few drinks at the reunion to relax (cause we're nervous) but if you don't want to drink alcohol there'll be plenty of other drinks available.