A few weeks ago, as I was gearing up for my high school reunion, I was getting really excited. I couldn’t help but realize part of the reason I was looking forward to seeing so many old friends was because I’d gotten to know them a bit better thanks to social media. I know, I know, people say you can’t trust what you read on Facebook—that people only put their best selves out there for the world to see (and judge), but I haven’t found that to be the case. I’ve connected with people I was acquaintances with in high school in a new way by discovering our common experiences, following their fascinating adventures, and knowing that we share similar everyday pleasures.
I wrote this article on Dot Complicated the week leading up to the reunion (feel free to take a break to read it…really, I’ll wait):
Social Media and the High School Reunion
And you know what? It was such a fun night. I loved being able to hug people who had reached out with parenting advice along the way. I loved being able to hit the dance floor like no time had passed with my old dance class friends. I loved reconnecting with the people who shaped me all those years ago, and I loved connecting with people who have shaped me in more recent years with their support of my writing and goals.
It was a great night, and I’m glad many of those connections will live on thanks to social media.
Before the reunion, I was in Maui with my family, my mom, my brother, and his fiance. It was a week we’d all been looking forward to for a long time, and it was a wonderful way to create new memories together. From swimming with sea turtles to collecting shells to sliding down two-story water slides together, it was a week filled with laughs and fun.
The few nights we got all cleaned up and headed out for lovely dinners together, I had a goal. I wanted to get some great pictures. The crowd wasn’t thrilled about that. And I don’t blame them. I remember being on the eye-rolling side of such requests for years. But I like to think I had a good reason to suffer through the complaints.
And I wrote about it in my Project: Underblog post for the month:
Getting the Picture
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