I survived, and not just barely. Despite the apprehensions, nerves, and my mother’s insistence that I was wearing something out of season, the event was a success. 100 of the 300+ FTHS 2001 grads attended, and 75% of the people I was most excited to see were part of that group.

Of course no highly-anticipated, first-time, 20-something experience is without its list of learnings. Here, in no particular order, are mine.

1. Ten-year high school reunions feature three kinds of conversations:

• 2-minute, faux catch-ups with people you weren’t really friends with (How are you? How’s your family? Great! So good to see you!)
• 10-minute, legit catch-ups with people you, sadly, didn’t keep in touch with (Actual questions about what the person is/has been/intends to do)
• 35-minute conversations with people you’ve remained friends with and/or know everything about through Facebook (Mostly gossip about everyone else in attendance)

The first are awkward, the second are nostalgic, and the third remind you why you kept in touch with these people in the first place.

2. People either look exactly the same or DRASTICALLY different.

99% of the people look only 10% different, 10 years later. The girls look slightly older, more mature, and seem to have stopped doing that make-curly-hair-straight-with-lots-of-gel thing. The guys are more chiseled in the face, have filled out a tiny bit in the middle, and seem to have stopped going tanning three time a week (note: I’m from Central Jersey). And then there are the few people who have either lost of gained massive amounts of weight. These stats are taken from a sample of 100 people, but I’d bet they’re pretty typical of all classes.

3. VERY few people who were together in high school are still together.

Again, this could be attributed to the sample size or the dynamics of my graduating class.

4. Fewer people were married than I thought would be, until I thought harder about it.

I think the national average is something like 30 for men and 28 for women now? I guess I falsely assumed that my suburban NJ town would marry earlier than the national average, but as it turns out most people were in serious relationships or engaged but not yet married. So, kudos Freehold, NJ!

5. It’s sort of hard to remember how close you were with some people.

You remember your best friends, and you remember the people who hated you, but that group in the middle – surface friends and friendquaintances – can be tricky to reconnect with after a decade. There will be some surprise “omg-it’s-soooo-good-to-see-you!!!” and some equally surprising cold shoulders. Best to just roll with this and take every hug hello as it comes.

6. On average, people are just starting to have their lives together.

This goes with the whole most-people-aren’t-married-yet thing. Ten years ago I bet most people would have been working in the same field for at least five years, buying their first house and not envisioning any massive changes in the near future. Today it felt like people had just settled into the rhythm they intend to keep for the next decade. There were first or second year lawyers, people just out of grad school, and people who had transitioned from one career to their current career. Or maybe that’s just the way I decided to see the crowd on account of my continued and incomplete career change…

7. Some people may or may not inform you that they really wanted to make out with you all through high school.

This will likely be booze-induced and definitely be awkward. Just hope some awesome people are standing next to you when it happens so you can all remember the magic together.