Sometimes class reunions are a big hassle. First of all, as each 5-year milestone from when you graduated comes around, there is a collective groan from all of the old schoolmates. Here it comes again…I can’t believe another 5 years has gone by…I must be getting really old.
That’s just the start of it. After the initial shock of another 5 years flying by passes, the serious planning begins. The venue. The food. The entertainment. After all of that is set up, then the old schoolmates have to actually be located—if that’s even possible—and then contacted.
Once the event is planned and scheduled, and once everybody—who plans to attend—has made their personal arrangements, then it becomes a logistical exercise. On top of everything else is the expense—attendees have not only the cost of the event itself, but probably need to add in some funding for travel and lodging, not to mention some new finery to impress the old schoolmates with.
A reunion takes a lot time, energy, and money—on everybody’s part—to pull off. Who needs it, right? Especially when we have Facebook. After all meeting up with old schoolmates on Facebook is the same thing, isn’t it? And it’s a heck of a lot easier, and free to boot.
So I’ll ask the question again, since most of us have our free Facebook accounts, who really needs a class reunion.
My answer might surprise you—we all do.
The facts—to me at least—are pretty clear. Reconnecting and reminiscing with old schoolmates makes us feel good. These encounters are the stuff of fond memories. Even if we tend to dread the upcoming event in the days prior, when we get our collective butts off the couch or out of the computer chair and actually go somewhere else and actually socialize with other living human beings, we are doing what we were biologically intended to do.
Facebook is tool and nothing more. A reunion is an event. And memories are created by events, not by tools.
I’ll even take it a step farther. Why wait until a 5-year reunion rolls around? Why not just get together, spontaneously if need be, with people you haven’t seen in awhile? Doing this doesn’t have to be a complex, tedious, expensive process.
A mini reunion is an easy, simple and inexpensive way to reconnect with old schoolmates, and make some great memories in the process. I personally believe, by the way, that this kind of thing is essential to a healthy and happy life, particularly as the years fly by.
By creating new memories based on old ones—the mutually shared experiences of the past—we are also creating happiness, both for ourselves, and for our schoolmates. And science has shown, time and time again, that happiness is a key ingredient of healthiness.
Don’t get me wrong—I’m not knocking technology and the power it wields. But as a member of a generation who grew up without computers, cell phones and yes, Facebook, I am abundantly aware that personal, shared experiences are far more enduring—and powerful—than fleeting electronic impulses.
So I’ll answer my own question. Who needs reunions? I think we all do. Class reunions are fine. Mini reunions are even better. Regardless of how you do it though, get out of the house and reconnect with old schoolmates. You’ll be a lot happier if you do.
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