For me, I was a senior in the class of 2011. This year marks my five year reunion and when I got invites and an invitation to join the "celebration". I honestly couldn't bare the thought of going back. Some people miss high-school and talk about the "good" days and the "simple" times, but for me it's something I honestly blocked out at times. I have memory gaps from high school in certain areas for reasons and I wasn't one who loved high school. I know that I am not alone in this area, so this is my story for all of you.

I was a new kid in my school during sophomore year, and even though my junior year was peaceful, tenth grade and twelfth grade were like a living hell, and it was almost as bad as middle school for me, especially when people would taunt me during hard times. When I saw the invites and happy comments, all I could think of was: why would I want to go back to where I was told I was an annoying freak, mocked for grammar mistakes that nobody would teach me how to fix until college, had my face pushed into a door and hurt my nose, had a kick me sign on my back from girls in a shop I was in, and made fun of for my appearance, whether it was from one of my eccentric dress phases that many people have or the nose that I was born with? Why would I also want to go back where my teacher mocked me for finally getting a math question right and where people would taunt me with my OCD when I was grieving? For me, I don't see why I would want to step foot in a room with any of these people that make them feel like they are back in the flames of hell.

Still to this day, I see a lot of these people and a couple I've said a cordial, "Hello," just to be polite, like the way I was raised. I learned the lesson to just walk on by like some people don't exist because it's strange how petty people can be that you once went to a large school with. I know everybody has done weird fads and gone through phases in their high school days, God knows I have, especially when I have sheer regret on my wardrobe choices in high school. But at the end of the day, I knew no matter how immature I could have been, I always was nice and had good intentions. I don't see why anybody who has had a high school experience like me would want to go back to their high school reunion to see mostly faces with bad intentions, because sometimes it can be both peers and teachers that left that bad taste and you don't have to experience that again if you don't want to.

With social media and what have you, there are ways to connect with the people you like or want to talk to if you don't want to experience it all at once. But to be honest, if you've had a history like mine, just stay private. I've honestly only kept like two people on my social media and haven't been happier because I don't want to know what the person that never changed is doing now. I know some people change, but the sad thing is that some don't and I don't think anybody should feel pressure to put themselves through misery just because of tradition and pressures from people and society to go back. In my opinion, if people were that bad to you, do what I did. I decided to do what I wanted, go to a school for my passions, and I decided to keep the positive people around and never look back. High school isn't glorious for us all, but all we can do is move forward. If you've had a bad experience, just keep going and never look back.