Why I Would Never Attend My High School Reunion

Last week, my friend expressed his frustration to me regarding his indecisiveness in choosing what attire to wear to his upcoming high school reunion. He asked for my input and I bluntly told him that he is putting too much energy and effort into worrying about something that doesn’t matter. He gave me a puzzling look. So I explained to him why high school reunions are a big waste of time in this day and age and why I wouldn’t ever attend one.

I’m sure that this is an unpopular opinion. Some people probably think I’m being too cynical and ridiculous with this opinion. But stay with me.

I’m not naive. I understand that most people see high school reunions as milestones. They see them as opportunities to reconnect and renew old friendships. But the vast majority of people go to their reunions just out of sheer curiosity to see how people have changed and look 10, 20, or 30 years after graduation. Others go to show off and impress their former classmates with their perceived material wealth or their self perceived “social status.”

High school reunions are extremely overhyped. Depending on a person’s experience during their high school years, they are either excited and look forward to attending the event or they dread going. The people that dread going probably won’t go to their reunions. A study from the 1980s determined that the biggest predictor of whether a person would attend their high school reunion was based on how positive their memories were of their school experience. That makes sense. No one would want to go if they felt missable during that period of their life.

So because of this, anyone could predict who would likely attend the high school reunion. People who perceived themselves as “popular” in high school are the most likely to go. The main reason is, these people feel like their legacy is at stake and they don’t want to risk being forgotten if they don’t show up. I believe this to be the case of my friend whom I mentioned earlier. He was a very popular athlete at his school.

Personally, my opinion regarding attending high school reunions is not based on my own high school experience. Sure, there were ups and downs, but everyone experiences those. Overall, I had a pretty good high school experience. I was pretty popular and very sociable.

My opinion stems from the practicality of wasting time, energy, and money on such an event, as well as the hype that’s associated with it. In this day and age, one doesn’t have to go to such lengths to reconnect with old close high school friends. Let’s be honest, these are the people that you will mainly spend time socializing with at the reunion.

Social media is so prevalent these days, that high school reunions are redundant. More than likely, you already follow or are “friends” with people you were closest to in high school. If there are old friends that you want to catch up with in person and you live near them, why not meet for a cup of coffee or go have lunch together? If there is distance between all of you, you could plan a group trip or set up a date for a barbeque cookout.

If you are the nosey type and want to see where your high school friends, enemies, and frenemies are in life, a quick search on Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), or LinkedIn will reveal plenty. There you will find information about their whereabouts, occupation(s), vacations, families, material flexes, etc. People love to share information about themselves online. You will usually find a full library of images and story captions for context. Social media gives you access to people with a quick touch of a button.

So why worry about getting all dressed up to go to an event filled with fake awkward small talk and deal with people you truly don’t care about, when you can plan an event or meet up with the people you truly want to see and spend time with? Wine, beer, soda and food are much cheaper and a trip would be by far more enjoyable.

There’s no reason to show off your life to people who probably haven’t thought about you in 10 or 20 years. Most likely, you haven’t thought about them either. The truth is, high school reunions are bullsh!t. Why pay money to see people you’ve been deliberately avoiding for the past 20-plus years?

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