To Reunion or Not to Reunion, That is the Question

By Jeremy J. Ly & Steph Wiechmann, MCHS Class of ‘03, Editors-in-Chief Emeritus of Peace Pipe Chatter

Jeremy: When I realized it was the year for my Minooka Community High School 10-year reunion, two thoughts crossed my mind:  “I am old.  And I’ve lost 50 pounds since high school, so I’m definitely going.”

Steph:  I’m excited and apprehensive to return to Minooka after many years away.  After heading east for college, I've only been back a few times.  Since high school, I've become a public radio host/reporter.  Like those in my profession, I like to use the tools available to me.  This means I've been silently keeping up with classmates -- whether they know it or not -- using public LinkedIn and Facebook information.  (Before you judge, think about whether you've done the same.)  But it’s not a good substitute for talking face-to-face with someone.  

Jeremy:  After graduating college I joined Teach For America and taught fourth grade in Chicago, succeeded at some things and failed at others.  Then I returned to Minooka.  While Steph went the radio route, I stuck to the the spoken and written word. Steph may have kept up with classmates quietly, but everyone knows I am not one to be quiet. I too have stayed connected with most of our classmates through social media.

Steph: Fellow MCHS ‘03 grad Kelsey Byrnes-Carney neatly sums up what Jeremy and I are getting at:  “Although Facebook is a good way to keep up on what and how people are doing,” she says, “it'll be good to share a drink and hear about each other's accomplishments in person.” I’m also excited to share time (and an open bar) with high school classmates who, like myself, have become proper adults in the last 10 years.  While living real life, my hope is that we’ve become more cordial and less quick to judge.  

Again, Kelsey nails it with her famous silver-tongued wit. “After 10 years, if people are still harboring ill thoughts towards one another or still focused on who's 'cool' and who's not in their book, it's best you stay home, buy some liquor in a plastic bottle and cozy up with a self-help book.”

Jeremy:  My only apprehension about reuniting with high school classmates is the “keeping up with the Jones’” mentality.  Everyone is getting married, buying homes and having babies. While not doing any of those, am I less successful?

Speaking of marriages, classmate Matt Giermala will not be attending because he’ll be on his honeymoon.  Sorry ladies (and gentlemen), he’s taken. On this excuse, a honeymoon is definitely a better choice than a high school reunion.  Congrats Matt.

Steph:  But what can we really expect when we come face-to-face with people who we haven’t seen in years?  My college friend Amanda Heitz recently attended a childhood friend’s wedding and sat at a table with other high school classmates. Her advice is simple: “Don’t dwell on the little things.  Be polite to everyone, have good conversations, and be willing to get or give apologies for things you did a decade ago.”  

Jeremy:  Since the geniuses over at Facebook haven’t come up with a way to share drinks with old friends, Steph and I are looking forward to our 10-year reunion.  She wants to see how adulthood has improved our classmates and I’m looking forward to continuing conversations and arguments with friends that are decades in the making. MCHS class of 2003 -- we’ll see you in July.

Share your thoughts and experiences about your high school reunion with Patch readers using the comment box. Did you attend your high school reunion? Why or why not? How was your reunion?

Jeremy Ly and Steph Wiechmann graduated from Minooka Community High School in 2003. Ly & Wiechmann served as Editors-in-Chief for the MCHS student newspaper, named (yes, it’s true) the Peace Pipe Chatter.  Both went on to study journalism at their respective universities.  Ly lives in Minooka, Illinois and Wiechmann lives in Muncie, Indiana.