{Me today, in my varsity jacket. Good thing they’re in fashion now, and I can finally be cool}

A few months ago, I was innocently wasting my life away trolling Facebook, when I was slapped in the face with an invitation to my 10-year high school reunion.

10 years?!

I did the math (it took longer than it should have – I did not excel in math), and realized that I did, in fact graduate in 2004. I’ve been an adult for a decade.

I wasn’t cool in high school, but I wasn’t uncool, either. I was cheerleading captain, which didn’t have the currency you’d expect; the “popular” girls were on the dance team. I was nominated for prom queen, but didn’t win. I was Editor-in-Chief of The Hub, the school newspaper. The day before Picture Day sophomore year, I got my first eyebrow wax and the lady ripped the skin off too, so I had a red scar-unibrow. I joined the debate team just so I could get a letterman’s jacket, because I couldn’t land a boyfriend who had one.

I was voted “Best Driver” for senior superlatives, because I would never get invited to parties until they were over and the drunk kids needed a ride home (the guy who won with me ran over a bicyclist.) I spray-tanned only my legs, so I looked half-Oompa Loompa and half-albino. I walked across the street to eat lunch at my dad’s office a lot. I was in love with half the water polo team and as a surprise, my mom hired one of them to lifeguard my graduation party. So, looking at the evidence, the scale tipped toward uncool.

{My bridesmaid Julia & me. I also made poor choices when it came to bangs, as you can see}

Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion is my favorite movie (when I learned Tony had never seen it, I made him watch it on our first date), but they always seemed so much older. I never gave much thought to the fact that I’d eventually have a reunion, too. I was shocked when it rolled around, and couldn’t think of anything better to invent than Post-Its, so I decided not to go.

Social media has made the necessity of a reunion extinct; if you’re curious what your crush (or tormentor) is up to, you can just stalk them on Facebook. There’s no need to endure awkward small talk, where both of you pretend you don’t know they had an omelet for dinner last Thursday, or a Twitter meltdown over their divorce in 2011.

Then, I realized that is sad. Social interaction is so much better in person than over a computer. And while I knew I wouldn’t be making a grand exit in a helicopter, I was excited to show off my TV star fiancé. And so, right after said fiancé got comfy in his pajamas on the sofa to finish the last of my failed Pumpecapple Piecake, I told him I changed my mind and we were going.

Keeping on theme, my mom took a “prom photo” of us and we left to spend $40 each on two drink tickets, a pan of sausages and the priceless opportunity to judge former classmates in person, face-to-face.

I was most surprised to see there wasn’t any judging going on. Maybe because we all know a lot about each other’s lives already from keeping up online, or maybe it’s because we’ve actually grown up, but it was just a fun night and opportunity to see some faces in person that I haven’t in a very long time.

{Julia, me & Sam, circa 2002}

{Me & Sam, now}

One friend is now making GORGEOUS yoga mats. Another one takes care of otter babies. One just bought a mansion with an indoor pool, and another one went to Princeton and Stanford and has a very fancy job. One guy is helping solve California’s water crisis. I wear wigs and write down the voices in my head for a living, and recreationally collect homeless dogs. And even though we all knew that about each other from Facebook already, it was nice to actually hear about it, in person.

{“Tony of Annie” had a blast, too!}

My favorite part of the night was when a former classmate showed up in a kilt and played the bagpipes. He used to do that pretty much every day after school, and I don’t think everyone was particularly nice at the time, which sucks because he was and is really amazing at it. But he knew who he was and what he loved to do then and embraced it, when most of us were afraid to figure out who we were and terrified to be ourselves. Some of us are still figuring who we are and what we want to do with our lives. It was so cool to see he’s still rocking the bagpipes, and to see how much everyone loved it. The Romy & Michele helicopter moment of the night was his.

{A collage my mom made, that still hangs in my childhood bedroom}

I thought it would be really poignant to end this blog with an excerpt from the speech I gave at our graduation, but when I asked my mom where it was she looked at me, horrified, and said, “You wrote it, you should have a copy.” And so, like my teenage-flat belly and wrinkle-free face, it is gone forever. I can, however, guarantee that it was just as melodramatic as that last statement and this blog.

Go Blue Devils!!!!!!