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Reflections on my 20 Year High School Reunion

This past weekend, Brenda and I traveled to Houston to attend my 20 Year reunion. With a big, family vacation coming up, we took this opportunity to enjoy a kid-free weekend. It has been far too long since Brenda and I took such a trip. With our reunion planned as a single event on Saturday evening, we used the remainder of the weekend to reunite with other friends that we wouldn’t see at the high school reunion and some time to just enjoy each other’s company. I have to say, though it has been well stated before, without a doubt, I married up… way up. It is such a relief knowing that she gets along so well with, and enjoys the company of my closest, life-long friends.

It is amazing to me how much growth occurs during the 4 year span of high school. You arrive for a freshman year, as a 14-15 year old kid, awkward in your own skin. And at graduation, you have likely made the first of many decisions that will shape who will be as a person. Whether it was going off to college, trade school, the military, civil or theological missions, or backpacking through a foreign country, the decisions rested on our own broad, 18 year old shoulders. Sure, family history, tradition or overbearing parents may have had their say, but this was YOUR decision. And aside from the relatively rare cases of abuse, bullies and outright terror, I think that most of us can agree that even though high school can seem unbearably harsh through the eyes of our 16 year old self, in reality, high school was a safe harbor away from what awaited us in the deeper waters of our college and young adult years. I had a plan, and a backup plan, and still ended up scrambling for my life!

I don’t think of my high school years as being remarkable. I had some great friends and classmates, but never really fit into a specific crowd. Modern social media has allowed me to make friends with some who were only acquaintances when we roamed the halls of high school. Social media has also helped me remember why some were only acquaintances to begin with, too! One thing that stands out when looking through the filter of 20 years, Kempner High School was remarkably diverse, ethnically, economically, theologically and socially. This definitely helps me see the world in a more positive light today. After all, if 2500 adolescents from a wide range of ethnicities, socio-economic backgrounds and religions can get along while handling everything from AP exams and UIL competitions to crushes, breakups, and puberty, surely there is hope for a world full of educated adults, right? Well, maybe not.

I didn’t excel academically, athletically, or artistically. I graduated smack dab in the middle of my class. No trophies in the display cases of I. H. Kempner High School trumpet my successes or even existence. And against the backdrop of a full lifetime, 4 years can seem inconsequential. But oddly, these 4 years were consequential, heck, they were foundational. In the years since, I have found things that are worth my passion, I have found a career, and I have found creative outlets. I have also found the joy of learning and reading… that would have been more helpful 20 years ago. But I still want to figure out what to be when I grow up.

Seeing the images flash by during the slideshow of pictures that were submitted from our classmates really highlighted the awesome experiences that were available to us. Spending Spring Break in a cramped condo in Galveston? Not really my scene, and there was no way my parents would have allowed it, if it were. For me, there were no trips to Paris, Mexico, DC, or Orlando. I didn’t march with the band in the Rose Bowl parade, or even the County Fair for that matter. But as unremarkable as it was, I still remember having a full high school experience. I had my favorite teachers and classes, where academic success came fairly easily, and I had downright failure in others. I faced social pressures and temptations. Sometimes I made choices that make me proud, and some are harder to reflect on. I am sure that seems familiar to just about everyone.

But most significantly today, as I think about our reunion, is the realization of how blessed I am, and how blessed we all are. There were some necks I got to hug and hands I got to shake for the first time in 20 years. I was so happy to relive some memories with these classmates. But for every face I got to connect with, there was at least another person that I wondered about or really hoped would have made it to the reunion. Just guessing, but I would estimate that there were somewhere around 80 or so classmates that made it to the reunion. That’s not a bad turnout for 20 years, but we had somewhere around 500-600 in our class if I remember correctly. To be able to laugh and talk with so many people and to know that there were still so many more that I wish I could have seen, it truly shows that I have much to be thankful for. Each of these classmates spoke something into my life during my years at Kempner High School. Some classmates were missed because their passions called them to other parts of the world, while other reunions will have to wait until we cross to the other side. It only took a few pictures to prime the pumps of our collective memory. But it was a fantastic stroll down memory lane, and left me feeling so very thankful, and proud, and hopeful and blessed.
  20yrReunionMissy
My twin sister and I at our reunion

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