Each year, King's organises a 10-year and a 20-year High School Reunion for its alumni. In 2025, King's will be hosting its first 30-year High School Reunion. While these events are full of love, laughter and memories, many former students report feelings of apprehension and inadequacy before the event.
What is it about reconnecting with people from our past that fills us with such dread? Are we worried about how we look, how we will be perceived or how we haven't lived up to our hopes and dreams?
Do we feel we have nothing in common with those people any more, that if there was anyone worth staying in touch with, we would have done so?
Or is it just too much bother - travelling all that way, finding babysitters, dressing to impress?
If you feel the same way about the invitation to your own High School Reunion, take a deep breath and read our 11 reasons why you should reconsider:
Because High School was an important part of your life…
Good or bad, your time at High School encompassed some of the greatest changes you have experienced. This was the era you learnt to drive, got your first Saturday job, had your first crush, developed your independence, moved from childhood to adulthood. These are the people you grew up with, who went through those awkward changes and momentous firsts with you.
Other members of your cohort are probably feeling the same as you
Will anyone remember me? Will anyone speak to me? Will everyone think I’m fat/unsuccessful/boring? Many of your old classmates will be feeling just as nervous and awkward as you. Dust off those insecurities, step out of your comfort zone and go break the ice.
To satisfy your curiosity
Go on, admit it. No matter how distant or insignificant your High School years seem to you right now, you do secretly wonder what happened to the quiet girl who was too shy to speak to you, the class clown, the school heartthrob, the soccer star. Well now’s the chance to find out. Prepare for some big surprises …
To rediscover old friends
Sure, you're friends on Facebook but when was the last time you caught up face to face? Messenger posts and texts don't quite cut it. A High School reunion is one of the few opportunities you will have to reconnect with people who were once important in your life. If you miss the event, you may never see them again.
To reminisce and indulge in nostalgia
There will be photos, there will be anecdotes, there will be laughs. Details of school life will be recounted from different perspectives through the soft-focus filter of time. Remembering all the things you shared and experienced together can be both entertaining and enlightening.
To gain some perspective on your life and learn something new
As we worry about our jobs, our families, the aging process ... it can be comforting to be reunited with peers who are going through the same thing. It is important to recognise life's successes and disappointments, share our highs and lows and even attend to unfinished emotional business: A school reunion gives you the opportunity to thank your teacher for all he did for you, apologise to the boy you used to tease in Year 8 and learn how the school dux found more contentment in gardening than her high-flying career in the city. Maybe you will finally discover why Jenna McLean stopped speaking to you in the last term of school.
To show your partner where you came from
They've heard the stories, they've seen the photographs but now you can show your significant other the actual school, town and characters that were part of your formative years. Of course, if you married your High School sweetheart (not unheard of in the King’s community), you will have less to explain.
To speak to teachers on a level footing
No longer do you have an adult-child relationship with your former educators; you can talk together as adults. How fascinating and rewarding this can be!
To honour those who are no longer with us …
… to share stories and memories of the beloved teacher or friend who has passed on.
To share the soundtrack of an era
Neuroscientists have confirmed that the music of our adolescence has the strongest hold on our memories and shapes our taste in music for the rest of our lives. Those songs we enjoyed in our teenage years make us particularly nostalgic. What a great opportunity to dance to songs you haven’t heard in years with people who share the same memories!
Because your absence will impact the reunion
No matter how insignificant you may think you were, missing out on the High School reunion deprives your former classmates of a key member of their cohort and shrinks the sample group.
If you are a former King's student and would like to find out what your old classmates and teachers are up to, contact our Alumni Co-ordinator via our website at www.kingscollege.qld.edu.au/community/alumni
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