Thanksgiving is a time where almost everyone travels back to their hometown to see family and celebrate the holiday, so why not have a drunken reunion? It’s a tradition in my town to throw yourself into a drunken crowd of everyone you’ve ever known since 5th grade. Sounds horrible right? But for some reason everyone loves it. Finally, everyone I went to high school with is 21, so it’s our turn to take over downtown. I think our town’s tradition of coming together once a year to relive “the glory days” is incredible. It’s similar to a high school reunion but everyone actually wants to be there. I think the most exciting aspect is seeing how everyone is doing, without having to dress up or try to impress. We are all home for the same reason. The fact that this reunion takes place at all the bars we heard stories about growing up makes it extremely interesting.
To prepare, I’ve been added to a group chat of five girls, all of whom I went to grade school with, and some I haven’t seen since we graduated high school four years ago. We’re all planning on getting ready together, and then heading downtown. Our conversation leads to memories of the middle school crushes we hope to see, wondering if any of our hot teachers from high school will be there. Keep in mind, I barely talk to these girls, yet it seems like no time has passed and we are right back at my high school lunch table. We’ve all had our differences through the years, and grew apart, but the fact that we can all get together for one celebration each year says a lot about the town I grew up in. Everyone hates on their hometown, and trust me, we’ve all had our share of rants, but at the end of the day it’s home and we cherish the classmates that made it feel that way for 12 years of our lives.