Why class reunions matter so much

Our emails are made to shine in your inbox, with something fresh every morning, afternoon, and weekend. But it turns out that college reunions offer benefits that go way beyond the pleasures of weekend drinking with old friends. And those who organize college reunions say that as time passes, anxiety about how we measure up against our old classmates gives way to deeper emotions.

Jerome Short, a psychology professor at George Mason University, says that reunions can help people construct a sense of meaning in their lives. A reunion allows us to fill in details of our life stories and consider what would have happened if we had made different career and relationship choices. Even those who had negative experiences in college can use reunions to gradually expose themselves to the same places, he says, and so reduce residual anxiety and anger associated with bad memories.

But while all reunions may provide these general benefits, the focus and effects of a year reunion is very different from the experience after five years out of college. Several universities said they could not provide reunion data, but both Stanford University and Harvard university reported a similar pattern for their events. The main reason high school reunions exist is to see what everyone from your graduating class is up to 10 years later. But with social media giving us access to these people at the touch of a button, why dress up and go to an event filled with awkward small talk, when you can spend a few hours scrolling through Facebook and Instagram to find out what you want to know?

High school reunions are placed on an unnecessarily high pedestal and I want to knock them down. For me, high school was fine. There were a few ups and downs, but everybody has those.

No matter how your high school experience panned out, there are still so many reasons why high school reunions are simply illogical. If you had a tough time with bullies in school, but have finally found your tribe and feel comfortable in your own skin, why go back to that toxic environment and try to impress the people who hurt you?

If there are people you genuinely want to reconnect with, instead of meeting at an event in your hometown, why not just swing them a DM asking to catch up over coffee? Good or bad, your time at High School encompassed some of the greatest changes you have experienced. This was the era you learnt to drive, got your first Saturday job, had your first crush, developed your independence, moved from childhood to adulthood.

These are the people you grew up with, who went through those awkward changes and momentous firsts with you. Will anyone remember me? Will anyone speak to me? Many of your old classmates will be feeling just as nervous and awkward as you.

Dust off those insecurities, step out of your comfort zone and go break the ice. Go on, admit it. No matter how distant or insignificant your High School years seem to you right now, you do secretly wonder what happened to the quiet girl who was too shy to speak to you, the class clown, the school heartthrob, the soccer star.

Prepare for some big surprises …. Sure, you're friends on Facebook but when was the last time you caught up face to face? Messenger posts and texts don't quite cut it. A High School reunion is one of the few opportunities you will have to reconnect with people who were once important in your life. If you miss the event, you may never see them again. There will be photos, there will be anecdotes, there will be laughs.

Details of school life will be recounted from different perspectives through the soft-focus filter of time. Remembering all the things you shared and experienced together can be both entertaining and enlightening. As we worry about our jobs, our families, the aging process