High School Reunion: Remembering the Past, Celebrating the Present

It's funny how some things can change in a blink of an eye and how some can stay the same for decades.  I have not always been as confident and as self-assured as I am today.  When I was in grade school, I was super shy.  I was one of the most well-behaved girls in class.  I hated speaking in front of the class.  My teacher used to say, "louder" all the time whenever it was my turn to recite.   I stayed with my small circle of friends, who, like me, were also quiet and well-behaved.  We were the good girls in the front row and we didn't like mingling with the "cool" crowd who were usually the tall girls at the back.  We were intimidated by them. They were confident and popular.   We were short, quiet and maybe, to the tall girls at the back, we were dull.  I was more or less the same in high school.

Look for the shortest.  That's me.

with my best friend

our senior class....I'm the one on the second row, second girl from the right

It was only when I entered college when I decided it was time I stopped acting as if I was inferior to these type of girls. And since, it was a new school, a new environment, I took every opportunity to create a new me.  A new Claire was born.  As time passed, I grew in wisdom and confidence.  Since then, I have accepted my height, embraced my flaws, and have taken pride in what I know and in what I can do.  I have long stopped being intimidated by tall girls and bullies.  I am proud to say that I am one of the strongest women I know.

Last weekend, I attended our batch's Silver Jubilee Homecoming.  It's been 25 years since our high school graduation and it was time to "come home".  I was excited to see my batchmates but the feelings of inadequacy that left me a long time ago, suddenly came back and prevented me from joining the cool girls in the dance performance that I so wanted to join.  Somehow, I doubted if I would enjoy practicing with them-- girls  I never even exchanged more than one word with when I was in high school.

The homecoming turned out to be fun.  Many of my batchmates  were surprised at the way I spoke and laughed.  While I was different, many of them were still the same.  There were still the bullies who would push you when they thought you had to move or those who rolled their eyes at you every time they thought you were too slow to understand them.  There were still the bright girls who thought they had the right to order you around and reprimand you when they thought you were misbehaving.  And there were still the girls who didn't know anyone except for the girls in their own clique.

Homecoming was really like going back to high school except that the faces you see are older, and that there are so many faces and names that you don't remember anymore.

with one of the nicest girls in class....she had the most beautiful singing voice I have ever heard...I was her biggest fan in high school

with some of our teachers

Even though my closest friends were not able to attend the homecoming because they were abroad, I am still glad I made the right decision and attended the event.  I am now in the process of rebuilding old relationships and it feels so good.

There is so much wisdom to be learned in the past, so many childhood memories to be cherished and preserved. These are the things that made me who I am. It's because of the past that I have so many victories and so much to be thankful for and to be celebrated  in the present.