My 25-Year Class Reunion

[Jimmie Nixdorf]

This past weekend, I had the honor and pleasure of attending my 25-Year Class Reunion for my high school (Thomas Jefferson High School in Port Arthur, Texas). I really enjoyed attending this event, as well as seeing my classmates from my graduating class. It was really an emotional rush for me, and I wanted to share these reflections.

To begin with, it is sometimes hard to believe that 25 years have passed since I graduated high school in May of 1984. At times, it does not feel as though that much time has passed, while other times it may seem like a lifetime ago. And at age 18, I don’t think I could have ever imagined myself at age 43 celebrating 25 years following my graduation. It was certainly an interesting sense of enlightenment.

This reunion marks the third one held by my graduating class. I unfortunately had to miss the 10-year reunion due to a schedule conflict with my job, but I did enjoy attending the 20-year reunion five years ago. I really felt a rush seeing my old classmates at that time, and I have often fondly remarked that I believe I received more hugs and handshakes on that day than I did on any other day of my life. I also remember at that time looking toward the future and expressing how I couldn’t wait for our class’s 25-year reunion. Five years later these positive emotions really helped me feel a great sense of personal satisfaction as I attended our third reunion, and as with my sentiments during the 20-year reunion, I am already looking forward to attending our next reunion.

I merely attended the 20-year reunion, but because I really enjoyed it, I volunteered to help members of my class with planning our 25-year reunion by serving on the reunion committee. I believe that working with the group really helped me gain insights into the amount of planning needed to make an event such as this one a success. We did experience a few setbacks during the months of planning; however, these setbacks proved to be nothing that we couldn’t overcome. And the compliments we received regarding the reunion from our classmates made me feel as though the final result was well worth the time and energy we put into it. I was privileged to work with the committee members in the planning, and I hope to work with them again in planning future reunions. This project helped reinforce notions of a small group working hard toward a common goal can help achieve great results.

We held two gatherings for our classmates. We met for the first one during the afternoon at a local park. This meeting gave the classmates an opportunity to bring their entire families to the park for a relaxed gathering. To me, a meeting of this type is ideal for those bringing younger children with them, because the children can play and have fun while their parents are mingling with their classmates. The second gathering occurred in the bar and banquet area of a local restaurant during the evening, and this gathering attracted more of our classmates. In either setting, it was a great feeling being with my old classmates again.

One of the main reasons I enjoy attending these functions is because I don’t always get to see some of my classmates that often. In fact, there are some I saw at the reunion that I haven’t seen since we graduated. Seeing those, as well as others I haven’t seen in shorter increments of time, is really rewarding. Another great benefit of attending the reunions for me is that I encounter some classmates that I didn’t know very well back when we went to school together, and I enjoy building new relationships while reinforcing others.

There was a part of our program that made me feel sad. Some of our classmates have passed away since we graduated, and they were honored during the announcements. I didn’t know all of the classmates who had passed away, but the mention of others who I did know made me reflect on my memories of them for a moment. While I am sorry that they are no longer with us, I feel privileged that they were a part of my life. As with other friends and family members, I choose to focus more on celebrating their lives than mourning their losses. I believe that as long as you remember those who are departed, then they never really leave us, and I will continue to honor their memories as long as possible.

We’ve never had 100% attendance from all of our classmates. There are some who could not attend due to scheduling conflicts in other areas of their lives, such as their employment, family, or academic schedules. This is unfortunate, and I can certainly empathize because I had to miss the 10-year reunion due to my work schedule at the time; however, I missed many of them, and I hope that they will be able to attend future reunions. Another reason some people might not attend is because we were unable to get in contact with them. We don’t have updated mailing or e-mail addresses on some of our classmates, but hopefully in time, we will be able to locate them so that they might attend future reunions. The Internet has certainly played a vital role in reuniting many of us, and there is the possibility that we may be able to locate some of our wayward classmates through the World Wide Web.

I’ve learned that there are some people who seem to do everything in their powers to stay away from their reunions. This is primarily because many of them did not have fond memories of experiences during their school days, and some still hold grudges for unpleasant events that occurred during this time. I’m not aware of anyone in my graduating class who feels this way, and I hope I never am. We all experienced our hard times as well as our pleasant ones, but I do believe it’s important to keep the past in its proper perspective. It is unfortunate that these events occurred, but barring extreme traumatic events, I don’t see how people can harbor grudges of this type. After all, we were all younger during these times, and some of these unpleasant actions may have stemmed from a lack of judgment on the parts of others. I certainly received my share of ridicule or grief from others back then, and as much as I hate to admit this, I didn’t always treat others as well as I should have either. I believe that you might miss the joys that lie ahead if you’re constantly looking back in anger, and I can only hope that those I’ve wronged can adopt a forgiving attitude toward me as I have with those who wronged me. While I don’t agree with people using this as an excuse not to go to their reunions, it is their prerogative, and I must respect their choices. My graduating class is part of my personal history, and looking around at everyone who chose to attend, I can’t help but feel that for that moment in time that there was nowhere else I would have rather been.

As I sit here typing this blog 25 years later, I am amazed at all that has happened since I graduated. I have earned two college degrees, held a variety of jobs leading to my current career as an Emergency Services dispatcher, met some really amazing people, learned a variety of valuable lessons about life, and developed as a person in many aspects. My classmates have also developed since our school days through their own experiences, and it is a pleasure reuniting so that we can see how successful we’ve become over the years. We have all achieved greatness in our own ways, and we will continue striving to achieve even more greatness as future reunions arrive. But we did not forget where we came from, as well as those who have accompanied us on our journeys. And I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people with whom to share my personal growth over the years.