As I
went to the website to purchase tickets, I noticed a list of people that had
already signed up. As I scrolled through
the list of a little over 100 people, I realized that while I recognized some
of the names, none of them were people that I had ever actually talked to in
high school. They were the outgoing
people, the cool people, the popular people. They were people that had actually been active
in high school. I was not one of those
people.
I
was the guy that hung out on the back fields to eat lunch. I was the guy that was introverted and kept a
low profile. With sadness, I realized
that none of them would even recognize my name. Nobody would care if I went or not. I slowly closed the webpage without buying a
ticket. I had been waiting 20 years for
this moment, and now that it had arrived, I couldn’t figure out what I had been
waiting for. I regret not being more
involved. I can think of so many ways I
could have inserted myself in the happenings of the school, but I didn’t. I just tried to get through it and move on. I don’t have a lot of fond memories of high
school, but I feel that is largely my own fault. I had the chance and didn’t take it. Now there
doesn’t seem like much point in going back. I kept in touch with the people I cared about
back then, so I guess that’ll have to suffice.
To
those who do go, happy 20th anniversary, Bellaire HS Class of ‘97, from the
anonymous introvert on the football fields.
