DISQUS

kathryn jones · 1 year ago

oh purplecar!!! Once again it seems that so much of who we are as adults remains a reaction to what we experienced in high school. I don't think its possible to overestimate the (often traumatic) effects of our high school years.

I too went to a very small high school - about 70 in my class - and 20 years later am just now beginning to reconnect with some of the ppl who were my extended family from 6th thru 12th grade... and yet I find the pain of some events from high school remains as strong as ever... it keeps surprising me, and it keeps appearing.

I wonder what it would take to make it all go away...

PurpleCar · 1 year ago

Kathryn, yes! A very small school. These classmates were like extended family to me, great way to explain it. It's hard to give strangers a picture of what life was like for us. Many of the kids I graduated high school with are the ones I started first grade with. 12 very formative years with the same kids, same families. We went through a lot together, many times very serious things like losing mothers to cancer or major reconstructive surgeries after accidents. And we fought like family rivals fight, too. At the time, it seemed like we hated each other, but I suspect that we hated the situation more. But as @Dayngr said via twitter, time heals. I'm betting on it. Thanks for commenting!

Annie Boccio · 1 year ago

I'm still in contact with four girls I went to high school with (including one who I had lost touch with for over 20 years.) But despite the fact that each was my "best friend" at some point, my current relationship with each of them is distant. I have to accept some of the blame, but it's mostly a case of lives running at full speed in different directions. Even the Internet can't breach that it seems.

Good luck reconnecting. I've never regretted getting back in touch with someone I haven't seen in years, even if all we got out of it was one fun conversation.