This past weekend I traveled to Kahoka, Mo., Peter's hometown of about 2,000, for his 5-year high school reunion and county fair.
At one point during the small reunion (out of a class of 67, only about 15 people showed up) the girl who organized it went through a list of everyone in the class and read updates she had gathered about them. Wow. Just, wow. In a surprising, sad, ridiculous way. Here's the (estimated) stats:
Marriages: 15
Divorces: 4
Double divorces: 1 (yes, a 23-year-old has been divorced twice)
Jailed classmates: Currently 2; a guy showed up who had previously been in jail though
Kids: 40? Maybe? There were a lot, that's all I know. Most did not include a marriage. Some had as many as three kids. And some raise kids from their husband/boyfriend's previous escapades too.
Flying J employees: 2 or 3; yes, there were several people who did not come to the reunion who worked at the Flying J gas station about 2 miles away.
Classmates who drove the 195 miles to the reunion on a motorcycle and possibly carried their 2-year-old with them: 1
Now, my class is two years younger than Peter's, but our current stats include one engagement and one baby, as far as I know. That's out of 308 classmates. Two different worlds.
i have a friend that went to a local high school and i went to a rural missouri high school far, far away from glorious st louis and the ridiculousness of the 'where did you go to school?' line. i'm sure five years after graduation, my class' stats looked similar. which leads me to a big, resounding, WHO CARES! if your bf's classmates are happy having multiple children and delaying or not attaining higher education, then i say great for them. it's not sad or ridiculous, that is their life choice. everyone is different, that is what makes this world such a great place. furthermore, when my friend and i compare notes, she has said it would literally be impossible to track down information on her 300+ classmates. it's easy to sling the dirt around when it's a tiny class size. you might be surprised to learn how many abortions, failed relationships, etc. that tally in your class. but again, who cares. in five more years, you won't either. hopefully, you'll just be happy that people from your past are happy, not matter what their lifestyle choice.
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