It’s funny: I don’t think of myself as being much older than I was when I graduated from high school. But my reunion invitation keeps dangling a really big number in front of me—a reminder that the years have truly flown by. Twenty of them, to be exact.

And while my eyebrows have shrunk and my waist has…well, not, a lot of other things have changed, too. It all started with this crazy thing called the internet. When I graduated from high school, I had no concept that by the time I graduated college there would be such a thing as an “interactive copywriter,” let alone that I’d become one. And I certainly never thought this introvert would have the word “social” in my job title. But along came social media, and it turns out I’m kind of into it. And I’m loving the role it’s played in getting me excited for my 20-year (shhhh) high school reunion.

In high school, you happen to fall into groups of friends based on common classes, sports, and extracurricular activities. You know a lot of people on the surface, but you have no idea what really drives them at their core. I’m not great at keeping in touch with people, so chances are, without social media, I would be walking into this reunion with my limited high-school view of my former classmates. There would be the smart ones, the pretty ones, the dynamic ones, the quiet ones. Our conversations might have been awkward. “Where do you live these days?” “What do you do for a living?” “For fun?” It would be just like orientation all over again. (Minus the horrible ID picture, of course.)

Instead, I’ll be walking into a room filled with people I have a new understanding of and appreciation for. Because, thanks to (primarily) Facebook, I feel like I know people in a more well rounded way. I’ll be able to ask the intimidatingly smart guy from a few of my classes about the intriguing political site he runs, as well about his recent international family vacation. I’ll share parenting stories with the outrageously strong woman who went from being in the military to cheering for her little girl on the swim-meet sidelines. I’ll hear what life is like when you leave everything behind and start over on a tropical island. I’ll get to hug the friend who lost his dad too soon, while laughing about how some things haven’t changed at all.

While I’m not ready to accept the fact that my kids are closer to their high school years than I am, thanks to social media, I am ready to reunite with my friends—old and new.

By Amy Heinz

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