The Great High School Reunion Time Capsule Unveiling

I went to my 10-year high school reunion this month (Woohoo, Class of 2001 Dragons! Seniors rule!). Yes, that happened.

Spirit week, 2001

It seems unbelievable that it has been 10 whole years since I moved away from Sonoma, California to join those fabulous lunatics in a little city called New Orleans, but here we are in 2011. Time flew by at warp speed and that small town girl (cue Journey song here) I was at 17 is all growns up. I’m married, I work hard for the money, I’m itchin’ to buy a house and I can throw together a mean dinner party. But to keep things in perspective, I still get carded and hate wearing shoes that aren’t Reef flip-flops, so I’m trying not to get too carried away with this adulthood thing.

Junior prom, 2000

(Note: I’ve been struggling with writing this post for the last couple weeks, and my brilliant friend Sierra inspired me with her post on how she feels about the last 10 years. Fantastic read– I recommend it.)

Senior ball, 2001 (semi-formal attire was too boring)

Spirit week, 2001

Anyway, the official Sonoma Valley High reunion was a lovely affair at B.R. Cohn Winery because we like to keep it classy here in the wine country. There was good wine, good food and a good crowd of people I hadn’t seen in a long time. It was nothing like “Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion,” which is good because there were no mean girls desperately trying to uphold the high school hierarchy but bad because there was no choreographed dance sequence to “Time After Time.” You can’t have everything, I suppose.

Classy times at the reunion

The reunion was a lot of fun, but the real event for me was a champagne brunch I hosted earlier that day with some of my close high school girlfriends. Back in the day, during our last week of senior year, we put together a time capsule to open at our 10-year reunion– a cardboard box we filled with photos, newspaper clippings, videotapes, inside joke lists, surveys and letters we wrote to ourselves. The box has been sitting in my childhood bedroom for 10 years, and it was finally time to crack it open.

Putting together the time capsule, 2001

The great unveiling

Wow. I can’t describe how incredible it was to sit with 10 ladies who have played such an important part in my life and open the magical box. If you think a group of teenage girls is loud and silly and giggly and squealy, you should get a group of 20-something women together and give them a dozen bottles of champagne (ahem, André sparkling wine). It is impressive and terrifying. I laughed until my stomach hurt.

Ridiculousness ensued

Pretty ladies

Highlights:

• Watching the hilarious compilation of video performances dating all the way back to junior high (if you’ve never had the chance to watch “Spice Deception,” you’re really missing out)

• Reading our survey responses out loud. Sophie’s response to “If you could date anyone in your class, who would it be?”: “[Redacted]. He makes me weak in the knees.” My response to “Out of your girlfriends, who would you date if you were a guy?”: “Jules, because she is so pretty, funny, laidback and fun to be around.” (Still true!)

• Breaking out the 2001 yearbook and admiring the ridiculous photo collage we spent way too many class hours putting together

• Trying to remember the dozens of inside jokes we thought were important enough to write down

• Going through piles and piles of photos from every high school event imaginable

• Reading the letters we wrote to ourselves

Watching video works of art

My letter was a five-page manuscript that jumped manically back and forth between being ecstatic to make a fresh start far away from home and being terrified to leave everything familiar behind. OMG, will I make friends as awesome as my Sonoma people? Will I find a job I love? Will I get married and have kids? Will I fail at life and die alone? At 27, I can be overanalytical and obsessive from time to time, but 17-year-old me needed to take it down a notch.

Teenage girlness aside, it is fascinating to read about my fears and dreams and goals and see which ones stayed constant and which changed over the years. Here are a few excerpts:

Am I still in touch with my high school friends? Actually, by this time, my college friends too? I really hope so. I know I will lose contact with people over the years, but I hope not the important ones. If I’m reading this right now, I assume that we’re at least all together again for our 10-year reunion. Who has changed the most? The least? Is Heather famous? Or Katie? Do we look a lot different or older? I hope we aren’t above having dance parties.

You’re so wise, Mini Me. I’m happy to say that I do keep in touch with the wonderful friends I’ve made over the years, and those relationships are incredibly important to me. Really, what could be more important? And we’re never above dance parties.

So grown up, so fabulous

[On my ideal man] Let’s see: hilarious, intelligent, sarcastic, easygoing, romantic, considerate, good with kids, adventurous, beach-loving, handsome, a musician and a dancer. Hmm… is that too much to ask? It’s crazy to think that in 10 years, I could actually be married, with kids even. Do I have kids? I hope they look a little Asian– hapa kids are so cute.

I have to say, I’m pretty good. The musician/dancer piece is the only part that might be a little off, but Brian does play the trumpet, have mad karaoke skills and know how to cut a rug on the dance floor. And though we don’t have any, hapa kids really are so cute.

Where am I living now? Did I travel like I wanted to? I hope I can live on the East Coast for at least a year, and I plan on spending time abroad. My junior year, I want to spend the year or the semester in Paris. I hope I can get my French up to standard. Did I ever get the guts to do the Peace Corps? I love the idea of living in some country completely different from the US, teaching and learning, but it’s two whole years… When it comes to marrying and having kids, I think I’d like to live in Northern California. I really love it… But I think I need to live in Hawaii at least once in my life.

Well, I never made it to live on the East Coast or join the Peace Corps, but I did spend a semester in Paris, teach abroad and live in Hawaii. As for settling in Northern California, plans change. New Orleans won my heart, but I still stay true to my NorCal roots. It’s been a crazy 10 years, and I feel like I should write myself another letter to open in 2021.

SVHS girls, I love you all and hope we can get together again soon, on one continent or another. What should we put in our 20-year reunion time capsule?

All you other beautiful people, did you go to your high school reunion or are you planning on it? Thoughts? Comments? Judgments?