10 Really Great Reasons to Go to Your High School Reunion

This is from a blog by Kenney Myers. Read it in its original form here.

When that invitation to a high school reunion shows up, your first instinct may be to toss it in the trash. After all, adolescence is usually an awkward time that most people would rather forget rather than reminisce about. While many people will say that high school was the best time of their lives, this isn’t always true for everyone. Still, there are plenty of reasons why attending your high school reunion is a good idea. These are ten of the reasons why you might want to think twice before you chuck that invitation into the garbage can.

1. To Network – Networking is so important in some fields that there are entire social websites built solely around the premise of helping people to network on a professional level. Attending your high school reunion can be a great experience, but it may also afford you some networking opportunities that you would otherwise miss out on.
2. To Reminisce – Some people suffer through high school, but there are also those that reveled in the experience. Looking back at your high school career and sharing a few laughs with the people that were by your side for all of those great times can be very rewarding.
3. To Show Your Spouse Where You Came From – Attending your high school reunion with your spouse is a great way to share a part of your formative years. You can tour your hometown, introduce old friends and share stories that you’d forgotten all about, helping you forge an even stronger bond.  Of course unless you are one of the luckiest people in the world and still married to your high school sweetheart (which is even more of a cause to celebrate with mutual friends)!
4. To Party Like It’s 1988… Or Something – When careers and kids come along, opportunities to let your hair down can be few and far between. Your high school reunion will give you the chance to dance the night away. Rather than sharing the dance floor with a crowd of college kids at a nightclub, you’ll be surrounded by people your own age rocking out to songs you haven’t heard in years.
5. To Satisfy Your Curiosity – If you’ve ever wondered where people ended up and what they have done with their lives this is your chance to find out.  Whether it is the motor head that constantly tinkered with his cool car or the nerd that always raised his hand to answer the teacher’s questions, it’s fun to see what became of them.
6. Because Wall Posts Aren’t Real Conversations – Seeing pictures and FaceBook status updates from your old friends or even sending a few messages back and forth just isn’t the same as seeing them in the flesh and catching up. As hard as it may be to believe, some people don’t even maintain social networking accounts. If you haven’t seen your high school friends since graduation, there’s no better place to catch up than the spot where you all went your separate ways.
7. To Show Your Spouse Where You Came From – Attending your high school reunion with your spouse is a great way to share a part of your formative years. You can tour your hometown, introduce old friends and share stories that you’d forgotten all about, helping you forge an even stronger bond.  Of course unless you are one of the luckiest people in the world and still married to your high school sweetheart (which is even more of a cause to celebrate with mutual friends)!
8. To Party Like It’s 1988… Or Something – When careers and kids come along, opportunities to let your hair down can be few and far between. Your high school reunion will give you the chance to dance the night away. Rather than sharing the dance floor with a crowd of college kids at a nightclub, you’ll be surrounded by people your own age rocking out to songs you haven’t heard in years.
9. To Satisfy Your Curiosity – If you’ve ever wondered where people ended up and what they have done with their lives this is your chance to find out.  Whether it is the motor head that constantly tinkered with his cool car or the nerd that always raised his hand to answer the teacher’s questions, it’s fun to see what became of them.
10. Because Wall Posts Aren’t Real Conversations – Seeing pictures and FaceBook status updates from your old friends or even sending a few messages back and forth just isn’t the same as seeing them in the flesh and catching up. As hard as it may be to believe, some people don’t even maintain social networking accounts. If you haven’t seen your high school friends since graduation, there’s no better place to catch up than the spot where you all went your separate ways.