I had coffee with a friend of mine yesterday. I've known her since we were in 5th grade, and just in case you're unsure, yes, that was a long time ago. We met before push-button phones were common in homes, before remote controls were standard with televisions, waaay before the internet and cell phones, and before Van Halen released their first album.
We may not see each other often because of, reasons,
but when we both have time that coincides, we try to get together. And it's always great to see her. She's wonderfully sarcastic; we speak the same language. We joke, and we just laugh. And joke some more. Do we reminisce about school? No, actually we don't that much.
Maybe because school is where we met when we were ten years old. We've kind of changed and grown some since then. We ask if the other one keeps in touch with other former classmates (outside of Facebook), but that's about the extent of reminiscing. Oh, and we did talk about some former teachers, their mannerisms, their classes, stuff like that. But over the course of a few hours, that accounted for maybe 15 minutes of our conversation.
I think it's hard to stay friends with someone you knew “way back when” if all you can talk about is the past. The song “Glory Days” by Bruce Springsteen comes to mind. I think if you can't find anything contemporary to talk about, it really limits your conversation. Plus, I don't want to believe that my best years are behind me, no matter what age my birth certificate says I am.
Where I went to school, we were taught to be people, not robots, to question everything, to challenge authority. We were taught that if something needs changing, go out and change it. Always be yourself. Stand up for your beliefs. So when you cross paths with a former classmate or even a former teacher, there is always something to talk about aside from your common alma mater.
We like to think our school had a unique blend of people, ideas, backgrounds, aspirations, and abilities. When you talk to anyone from my class, that's a recurring statement, and I am constantly amazed by the amount of talent assembled in one building. There is also a unique bond that comes from being a part of something that was experimental at the time, and very small. We had fewer than 100 people in my graduating class. I'm friends with many of them on Facebook and stay in touch with some people face-to-face. The bond even crosses grades; people who I may not have known in school, or maybe we weren't in school at the same time, but we have that instant connection.
A couple of years back, I was talking with someone who went to a different, smaller school, and he said he felt the same kind of bonding. The bond that crossed graduation years, and it's just because he attended that school.
What about you? How large (or small) was your school, and do you keep in touch with anyone?
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