In Focus

Graduation is here, and the classes of 2024 will move on from high school. 

This year marks the 20th anniversary of my high school graduation, and our class has been talking about a reunion. Surprisingly, I haven’t seen a handful of classmates since the last reunion.

That reunion had an exciting conclusion as one classmate got stupidly drunk and clingy, and the last of us lingering at the embers of the bonfire may or may not have run off when he wasn’t paying attention. We weren’t exactly sober either and thought it was hilarious. Apparently, a cop found him and gave him a ride to his parents. Those were good times!

I wonder what could happen this year. Most are at the peak of adulting with their own families, so I wonder if it will be an early night or if everyone will let loose. We’ll have to wait and see.

Thinking back on my time in school, I realize there were many funny moments. One was a Senior Hall of Fame picture I was in for Worst Driver. I really wasn’t. I was given that title because I was the last to get my driver’s license because I was the youngest in the class. The day before, one of the guys also voted into this category rolled his car. He drove it to school the next day, and we used it in the photo.

Flipping through my senior yearbook, I got voted in for Most Unique, Most Dramatic, and Class Clown. I know I was the Goth kid in the drama club, but I’m glad they thought I was funny. Maybe I earned the title from The Wizard of Oz play where I was a purple munchkin and wore a purple bra over my purple shirt because I thought it was funny, and the director approved. 

There was also this one Halloween, a friend and I were sitting on my front porch going through our candy haul when two friends ran up to the house, shouting as they ran past us into the house, “You didn’t see us.” A few minutes later, the town cop came by and asked us what we were doing and if anybody else had come by. Yeah, we lied and said, “Nope.” After the coast was clear, the boys came out, wearing their costume jackets and with blankets from the living room. They had felt the need to egg a teacher’s house and got caught, so they figured my house was a safe place to hide.  

Another occasion was when I sprained my ankle during a play rehearsal—two friends had to carry me home. Thankfully, I didn’t live far from the school. My mom was livid and came to school with me the next day as I hobbled in on crutches. I walked into the choir room while Mom entered the door that went straight to the teacher’s room. We could hear her yelling at him for abandoning me with an injury. It was hard not to laugh at him in his class the rest of the day. 

I also remember a night all us girls gathered at a friend’s house for a slumber party, and the boys caught wind of it and crashed the party. They were slinking around outside, tapping on the windows, trying to scare us. 

One of my favorite memories was when we took down Steve Reiwer’s Shania Twain collage and swapped it out with one my friend made of his family. Reiwer thought the seniors did it. I’m not sure if he every figured out it was just two bored girls in yearbook class. 

I hope this year’s graduates can look back on their school years and remember the good times for years to come!