Not My Party

I have received an invitation for a school reunion, 25 years after leaving that class. It is the second reunion being arranged. I suppose the first one was ten years ago. I didn’t go then. I was living abroad at the time so I did not even consider it. This time I would be able to go if I wanted to, but I don’t think I will go this time either. I know a some people find these gatherings traumatic, where everyone will compete and show off who is the most successful or failed. Some may even worry about meeting their old school romances. I have no such worries whatsoever. I don’t have any old school romances and I don’t feel I have anything to prove and no need to show off. On the other hand I don’t feel I have anything to be ashamed of either. I feel quite happy with the way my life has turned out and to some I might even seem successful and having made some kind of career. The thing is I couldn’t care less.

I feel I have no interest whatsoever to meet any of my old high school class mates. The few that I like and would like to stay in touch with, I am in touch with and see every now and then, the rest… Well I suppose there are reasons why we don’t stay in touch. I have plenty of other friends in my life.

Not even the arrangement as such can tempt me to spend the 400 kr and drive the 350 km to go to the party. The dinner menu was extremely boring and the music described as “the greatest hits from the good old days” which in this case I guess would be around 1986. Oh my god! I can not think of a worse setting for a party. I simply don’t have that kind of nostalgic nerve at all. My life has moved on. I don’t feel any need to waste time on people I have nothing in common with, more that the fact that we happened to be born the same year at the same place, and talk about things that happened 25 years ago and listen to the same old music as we did then. I just don’t want to. I believe people who like to go to this kind of parties are the ones who either feel a need to prove they have achieved something or the ones that never get invited to any real parties.