It’s that time of year…

What’s the last reunion — high school, college, summer camp, whatever — you went to?

I went to my 30th high school class reunion at a school I didn’t graduate from. It was in 2001 and I had a free ticket on American Airlines, so I went to St. George’s in Newport, Rhode Island for Reunion Weekend. If you’ve read this blog from the beginning, you know that I spent one very unhappy year there as a freshman. But a lot of interesting seeds of my life were planted there, including a lot of writing, my convincement to Quakerism, and coming out, so I went back to see what the place was like and touch base with some of the people who had been a part of that experience. (In 1999 I went back with my brother for his reunion, but no one from my class was there.) I was able to put some ghosts to rest, make amends, and find that a lot of teachers I’d had were still there and who remembered me. I also reconciled with some classmates, including one who gave me a heartfelt apology for bullying me and felt bad that I had left the school after one year. I was grateful for that, and assured him that he alone was not responsible for my departure.

Ironically, the high school I actually graduated from wasn’t able to muster anyone from my class for a reunion that year, so they canceled it.