1. Wait A Minute
At my 10-year high school reunion, we had a decent turnout, maybe 100+ people. We were at a pretty nice hotel banquet hall. There was one guy I had known all through high school, Chris, and he was a well-known stoner. I saw Chris walk into the banquet hall, stop in his tracks, and turn around in a very slow 360-degree circle, surveying the entire room.
He just said, "Whoa," and he looked visibly alarmed. He stopped, and his eyes settled on me. I said, "Hey, Chris! Long time no see, man!" He kind of slid over to me and whispered in my ear, "This is weird...I'm pretty sure I know every single person in this room". And that is when I realized he was wearing the same clothes as all the banquet hall workers.
Chris was working as a server at his high school reunion, and he had no clue what was happening. I walked him out to the front lobby and explained it was our 10-year high school reunion. He was mortified, beyond embarrassed. He was never contacted and didn't even realize it had been ten years since we graduated.
He just knew he was working another catering gig in a never-ending series of catering gigs. I made him take me to his manager. I explained what was happening and told the manager there was NO WAY this guy was working his high school reunion.
Awesomely, the manager agreed. We found a different suit jacket and tie for him, and I took Chris back to the party. He ended up having a good night.
2. Pay Him No Mind
At my five-year reunion, there was one guy who was always kind of a marginal figure in high school but a nice person. After some sort of discussion, he got his paycheck out and got loud, saying, “Now do you think I’m a loser? Don’t believe how much I make? Check this out”.
Of course, he just made things worse, and everyone was laughing at him. I mean, he had his paycheck on him.
3. Odd Man Out
three men and laughing two women walking side by sidePhoto by Eliott Reyna on UnsplashDuring our reunion, a social group of "cool people" that I had cordial relations with during high school but was never part of all met up and were pretty happy about it. Then, over drinks, it somehow came out that all of them had been sleeping together during high school, except for one of them.
He had always seemed like a core member of the group from the outside, not unattractive or anything, but for some reason, he was just never clued into the fact that all his friends were getting it on with each other end masse for basically as long as they knew each other. There was some very eye-opening loud screaming.
4. Top Prize For A Teen Mom
At my 10-year reunion, the organizers were doing the thing where they give "awards" for the person who came the farthest to attend, the person with the most kids, etc. The award came up for who had the oldest kid, and people started shouting out their kids' ages.
When it quieted down, this shy girl unexpectedly stood up in front of everyone. She whispered, "Eleven". Then we all realized why we had stopped seeing her right before graduation.
5. Wrapped Up Nonsense
When I was in 7th grade, this rich snob, John, grabbed a wool scarf my mother had knitted for me off my head. He threw the scarf into a pile of muddy leaves and jumped up and down on it.
When I went home that day, my mother was furious when she saw the torn, muddy scarf. She made me tell her who did it, then she called the school principal and yelled at him.
The next day, John got pulled into the principal’s office and paddled. That was back when they still paddled kids. Fifty-five years later, at our 50th class reunion, John came up to me and angrily said, “You got me into trouble in seventh grade!!!” I got “him” in trouble?! And he’s still mad about it 55 years later?
I said, “John, you were a [jerk] in high school, and you’re still a [jerk],” and I walked away.
6. Hand Him Over
two women talking while holding drinking glassesPhoto by Michael Discenza on UnsplashI was at a small college reunion with my core group of friends from university. This was about five years after graduation. We all partied pretty hard in school but mellowed out in our late twenties.
We decided to all meet up for dinner at a local bar/restaurant. One guy showed up already plastered, with a duffle bag full of multiple packets of illicit substances and the bottle he started on before meeting us.
He decided we were boring, finished his bottle in the restroom, and refused to come out. He ended up passing out in there. The bartender booted him out. He came alone in an Uber, and we had no idea where he lived.
None of us wanted to take him to our places, so we dropped him off at his last known address, which was his parents’ house. Both of them answered the door, and we handed him over. It was past midnight and incredibly awkward.
7. Mean Girl Mash Up
It's been a decade since I finished school. I would see an old classmate sometimes when he did maintenance work in my apartment block. About a year ago, he asked if I was going to the reunion organized by some of our classmates. I said no because I couldn't think of anything worse and also hadn't been invited.
When I next saw him six months later, I asked how the reunion was, and he exasperatedly explained that it had been a real gong show. The mean girls who had started planning it together fell out and then started each planning their own, so there were about four tiny awkward parties, and everyone was confused.
8. Miserable In High School And Out
The people who were supposed to plan our high school reunion dropped the ball, so I figured it wouldn't happen. Then this other dude from our high school stepped up to plan it.
He was in a graduate program and also working part-time at a banquet hall and said that his boss would give us the banquet hall space for free. It was a nice gesture, and he seemed really into it.
He had been a miserable person in high school—grumpy, sullen, unpleasant, and mean to other people. He came out in college, so maybe the weight of having to keep it a secret was part of why he was so unpleasant; maybe he'd be more fun now. But the truth would soon reveal itself—and it was not at all what I expected.
I was working a terrible job and had no savings at the time. So, I was neither interested in having my former classmates pity me nor was I wanting to shell out a lot of money to attend, plus my ex might be there and that didn't feel worth it. The organizer made a Facebook event and asked people to Venmo him the cost of admission before attending. He wanted something like $15–$20 ahead.
It didn't really feel worth paying for, but maybe if there would be some drinks included or something, I would go for an hour. I sent him a private message asking what the admissions ticket covered since the space was free, after all.
He then posted a truly peculiar message on the Facebook page. He said that i f the cost of admission was too steep, "Message me and we can work out some financial aid". What?
I then publicly posted, asking what the admission cost covered. There was no response. Other people asked too. He said it would go towards having a bartender and server dedicated to the event space, as well as towards food. Fair. It turned out HE WAS THE SERVER. My friend showed up having not yet paid him, and he barred her entry.
The people who had paid the admission cost showed up at an empty banquet hall. They were given a menu by their former classmate and told to order their food and drink from him. He pocketed the admission ticket money as his fee. After an hour, he brought out one grocery store sheet cake for 75 people to share. That was it.
9. A Surprise Ending
group of people tossing wine glassPhoto by Kelsey Chance on UnsplashI was at my 10th reunion of a graduating class of about 850. It was a well-funded high school, and every class had a trust fund to fund reunions. A good friend of mine was our treasurer and organized it via Facebook. We started big with a ballroom, setting for 1,000, figuring spouses, etc.
A year out, there was lots of interest, but not as much for 1,000 people, so we scaled back. Six months out, there was less interest. Lots of people reconnected via Facebook and lost the drive to care, so we scaled back more. Three months out was the deadline for attendance.
The school’s alumni association would dispense the funds based on class size and allotment for the milestone. We hadn’t put a deposit down because the target kept moving.
Two months out, my friend finalized things and did a formal cut-off. She had kept taking RSVPs for a month due to a lack of interest. The day of it was at a local bar. Not a small bar, either.
Some 25 alumni showed up out of 150 RSVPs, and with spouses or whatever, there were around 40 people. The worst part was knowing so few people cared, but the best part was the treasurer’s smirk the entire night.
The school had allotted $50 per person for this, $15,000 with instructions to pay everything fully.
We drank and ate to the point of almost being Roman, and the bill was $7,500 between the food and venue rental. She paid the bill, then handed everyone $100 from the envelope, and then handed the rest of the envelope to the manager and was like “Here’s the tip”. Roughly $3,000 went to the waitstaff and crew.
10. Dude Was A Rock Star
It wasn't really bad, just odd. A guy came with full KISS-style makeup on—white face, black shapes around his eyes, and black lips. We were too awkward and polite to mention it, so everyone just chatted with him as though it was completely normal to turn up like that.
11. The Joke Was On Them
One guy had made not one but two fortunes and had a net worth of well over $100 million by our 20th reunion. He had high-speed modem patents in the late 1980s and was an early investor in broadband. He'd already retired.
On our classmate's update bulletin, he listed his occupation as "unemployed and unemployable" as a bit of a gag. Some of the well-meaning but clueless types sought him out to offer encouragement and tips on how to find work.
12. Begging For More
man learning on concrete wallPhoto by Warren on UnsplashA former classmate went around panhandling at my 10-year reunion. I didn't know his name and had no memory of him whatsoever, but I noticed he was sitting up front with the people who organized the reunion.
Towards the end, one of the organizers got on the mic and said, "By the way, I promised [name] that if he showed up, everyone would give him a dollar," in a tone that sounded to me like she was joking.
But no. He worked the room asking for handouts. He needed gas money to get home, even though he lived locally. He must've been completely immune to embarrassment. I'd probably hold up a supermarket before I resorted to something like that.
13. You Won’t Get Any Dancing Here
My 10-year reunion ended before it happened. Our class president—traditionally in charge of organizing—took a hard turn into a Footloose character after high school.
Her event planning included no drinks allowed—not even BYOB—she was adamant there would be no music or dancing, and ones were to be spouses only. Two guys happily told her they'd bring their husbands, and she ousted them both from the Facebook page.
The venue was the high school's soccer field in Iowa in August. We were welcome to bring our chairs. A few people offered to bring beanbags and bocce, and similar games. She said no because it would make the reunion "too much like tailgating".
Suggested entertainment was a guided tour of the school, which had undergone zero change since we graduated. Catering was from Hy-Vee, which is a grocery store. Their food was okay, but the tickets were $60. It was not $60 a ticket good. It was ultimately canceled because out of our class of 300, fewer than ten people bought tickets.
14. Mic Drop
We had a teacher in high school who told us, "By the time you reach your 10-year reunion, at least one of your classmates will have died," during a discussion about mortality. The 10-year reunion arrived, and nobody from our class had lost their lives. The Saturday night of the reunion, we're partying and having a good old time.
One of the organizers got up to the microphone and was making some announcements. She suddenly got a blank look on her face and dropped to the floor. She suffered a brain aneurysm; she was gone before she hit the floor.
15. Wrong Way Match
person holding persons handPhoto by Dan Burton on UnsplashAt my 10-year reunion, there were two married couples who dated the opposite one back in the day. Well, two hours into the reunion, I saw Guy Number One feeling up Lady Number Two. I shrugged it off, thinking that maybe my eyes were messed up from being a little tipsy. I went to use the restroom and saw Guy Number Two with Lady Number One. Now, I knew something was messed up.
Another hour went by, and I heard some yelling and name-calling. Lady One and Lady Two were catfighting each other. Guy One and Guy Two came from different angles to see what was going on. Then, they saw it was their wives going at it. They tried to pull them off of each other, and the wives started hitting their respective husbands, calling them cheats.
Pandemonium broke loose between the guys, and they started beating each other. The wives started brawling again as well. We finally broke it up. Both the women and the men had bruises and torn outfits, and bloody lips. Well, Lady One went home with Guy Two, and Lady Two went home with Guy One.
About two or three weeks later, we found out that they all got divorced and got remarried to the people they were hooking up with at the reunion.
16. Looting Loser
The organizer at my 10-year high school reunion had set up a donation table for a college scholarship in memory of a classmate that had passed. This was in a midwestern USA city, so it was just a table with a glass bowl for attendees to drop money into. No worries, right?! WRONG.
Some jerk took all the donations and just walked out with probably at least a grand in cash when he had the chance. I never heard what happened to him, but everyone knew who did it. I have a feeling he will not be invited to any more reunions.
17. A Grand Slamming Time
We'd been there less than an hour, having a great time reconnecting. Suddenly, an old friend approached and said, "Is that your wife over there? She's pretty hammered". As we watched, she tripped and fell face-first, full-body crash onto a table where many of my old classmates were sitting. The table broke, and food and drinks flew everywhere.
I walked over, scooped her up, and half-carried/half-walked her out the door. She had taken a Xanax before going (unbeknownst to me) and started slamming drinks as soon as she got there.
18. Last-Minute Cancellation
man standing near white wallPhoto by ian dooley on UnsplashSomeone I knew from school tried to arrange an unofficial reunion as the school wasn't going to do one. He was socially inept, so he would say and do odd things, but his heart was always in the right place. He put in a lot of effort, but very few people responded at all. Those who did mostly made snide comments about the event behind his back, like dissing the location, etc.
Close to the event, he canceled and sent everyone a (justified) message about how they can all go suck eggs, and he was just trying to do something nice and wanted to catch up with people. That was received with more snide remarks too. He passed unexpectedly just a few months later from a heart attack.
19. Two-Time Turmoil
The class officers did a five-year reunion on Thanksgiving weekend at a local bar. They only invited who they liked, about 30–40 people. One of the people they didn't invite had become a law enforcement officer who talked his supervisor into running a checkpoint. Almost half the people who went ended up going to the slammer that night.
Two of the organizers ended up with other charges as well. The 10-year started better but still ended up being a mess. They decided to go on a picnic at the same place we had our senior picnic. One of the class officers had started a catering company and gave themselves the job.
About one-third of the people ended up with food poisoning. Thankfully, Covid caused our 20-year reunion to be canceled.
20. Booted Over A Booze Bilker
I went to my partner’s five-year at the local Elks Lodge. He grew up in a really rich town, so it was super extravagant. The best part was the open bar until 9 PM and then cash afterward.
We were all having a great time until some jerk decided to ruin the immaculate vibes. He snuck into the basement and took a bunch of bottles (literally multiple boxes). When the bartenders found out at 8:30 PM, they were furious and booted us all out. They ruined what would have been an excellent night.
21. No Great Expectations
ribbons and confetti on floor\Photo by Matheus Frade on UnsplashMy 10-year reunion invite came up, and I thought, “Yeah, looks like it could be fun”. I noticed the venue was a fancy restaurant. I was disappointed, expecting some sort of party. The room was very limited.
I started reaching out to all the friends I had kept in touch with. Not one of them was even remotely interested in going. My old high school best friend suggested we catch up at his place and drink instead, so I bailed on the reunion.
It turned out that almost no one went. One of the girls who organized the thing was begging my mate to go because she was so embarrassed about how few people had RSVP’d. She ended up bailing herself. The ten people who went had to be split up since they booked a place that was not intended for large groups of people.
Unironically, the same group who organized it took it upon themselves to organize our end-of-school formal. They decided that we didn't want to go with the original plan and completely replanned it without really consulting the general student body.
So many people bailed on it that they had to start inviting ex-students just to meet the minimum required to move forward with the date. I don't know why I expected anything good from their reunion.
22. Same Name, Different Outcome
My sister, now-husband, and I were all in the same graduating class, along with my husband's best friend, John Smith, who was very popular in high school. He was a super nice guy and stood out in a crowd. If you didn't know him, you certainly knew of him, even in a massive school.
The 20-year reunion rolled around, and my sister was the only one who wanted to go. She called right after, very upset. There was a huge memorial wall for John Smith, who had just passed! None of us knew! My husband was like, “Huh? But we just saw him”.
He called him up and was like, "Hey dude, are you dead?" He wasn’t. He was surprised but alive. It turned out that the much less popular John Smith was the one who passed. They made a lovely memorial for the wrong guy, who was forgotten.
23. Living In Denial
My husband's 10-year reunion rolled around. The whole thing was just sloppily put together, and it was pretty clear the class was not interested in getting together. The gathering place kept changing every couple of weeks. At first, it was renting a place and getting food catered.
It's pretty typical in my town for most people not to go on to be successful by any means, so asking mostly unemployed or minimum-wage workers to cough up $200 to attend just didn't work out.
Venues kept downgrading to accommodate attendance until they got down to having a bonfire out by the lake, BYOB, no fee, just come hang out for, like, an hour or something.
Throughout the fiasco of finding a venue, a majority of the class declined to go. There was a good handful still marked as going, but with everything changing and people starting to tune out midway through, a lot of people forgot to change their status from going to not going. Two people showed up. That was it.
One was my brother, who had nothing better to do, and the other was the guy who had helped put the mess together. The gal who set the whole thing up was pretty mad about it, and the random dude that helped posted a long rant on the Facebook page about how awful people were and how they should've appreciated the efforts it took just to hold the pathetic gathering.
My husband had me sit and flip through the page after everything was said and done. It was pretty obvious the gal was in serious denial the entire time, despite it being pretty clear nobody wanted anything to do with the event.
24. The Gang’s All Here
gray steel knife with brown handlePhoto by Thanh Tran on UnsplashThe high school I went to had a really big gang problem. A great many people didn't attend due to being in the slammer. Some of those who were in gangs in high school had worked their way through the ranks. One, in particular, was pretty high up, and he decided to show up.
It was generally peaceful until somebody made a shocking move—the guy decided to stick him with a sharp object.
The dude who got shanked was a colossal jerk to me through all of high school, and now he was bleeding profusely from multiple wounds. Being an off-duty medic, I did what I do, half expecting him to bleed out on the gym floor. He didn't remember me; there wasn't that movie moment between us.
I doubt he even recognized me. I just kept plugging holes and thinking I shouldn't have worn my nice shoes. The authorities and EMS arrived. A few people were taken into custody, and he survived. I ended up tossing my favorite dress shoes and a nice pair of pants because they were too stained to rescue.
25. Old News Was Bad News
I was at my 10-year reunion. Some girl confessed to cheating on her high school sweetheart, thinking enough time had passed it wouldn’t bother him. She thought wrong. The two of them hadn’t seen each other in years, and, as far as I knew, they broke up shortly after high school ended.
After she broke the news, somewhat nonchalantly as well, the guy flipped out and smacked her. Then, he started screaming at her. She ran away, at which point he broke down and said something about wasting his high school years and left.
26. Life Just Got Worse
My wife and I went to her high school reunion at a brewery back in Michigan. A former friend of mine showed up after a bit. That friend happened to be in the same graduating class as my wife. I didn't attend the same school. She got there, and I asked how she had been. Her response was, “Really bad”.
She told me that she and her boyfriend split up, she had a low-paying job, and so on. It also didn’t help that she didn’t get along with most of her old classmates who attended. The night went on, and everyone was catching up and having a good time.
My former friend said goodbye and went out to the parking lot to her car. She came back in, saying someone ran over her car. Everyone assumed she meant someone hit her car and dented the bumper or something. Nope, someone with a truck or SUV ran over her car, drove on top of it, and took off.
27. Making The Grade
woman with blonde hair and red lipstickPhoto by Alexander Krivitskiy on UnsplashIt was a fifth-year reunion. One of my former classmates attended with his girlfriend, but then he disappeared and left her alone almost the entire time. He was in bed with Miss Musa, our ex-English teacher.
An argument ensued and after he left with Miss Musa, and let the girl leave by herself. My friends and I felt so bad we followed her and gave her girl advice. They had been sleeping together since 10th grade.
28. Broken Dreams
Someone confessed to me that I was his “dream girl,” even though his fiancée was his date to the reunion. I barely knew the guy in high school. That was bad enough, but it gets worse. Unfortunately for his fiancé, she didn’t know anyone there, and he refused to leave with her. He said, “I’m not leaving with her, I’m leaving with you,” to me. I told her to text me when their car was outside.
Then, I whispered, “Let’s go” in his ear, walked him out, and put him in her car. I’ll never forget the look on his face when he realized who was driving, and I said, “Yeah, that’s how tonight is going to end”. They still got married.
29. Crushed By Reality
This was not my reunion, but my husband’s. In high school, my husband was (and still is) a very reserved and quiet person. He tolerates no nonsense, though. We arrived at the venue, and everyone was mingling. All of a sudden, a woman called out my husband's name and ran over. He introduced me, and she lost her ever-loving mind.
Apparently, she had been in love with him since elementary school but hadn't ever said anything, and she planned on asking him on a date that night. She had no idea he was married or that his wife was seven months pregnant. She burst into tears and started yelling at me incoherently. We left less than 20 minutes after arriving.
30. Justice Was Served
man wearing gray blazerPhoto by itay verchik on UnsplashI went to my high school reunion, but I honestly don’t know why I did. The friends I kept in touch with, I kept in touch with. However, one friend managed to convince me otherwise, and so I went. The reunion was mostly people trying their best to one-up each other in their bid to look successful.
I sat down at a table next to my friend, where I was actually enjoying my time catching up with long-forgotten acquaintances. During the reunion, two people stood out the most. First, there was this chick I barely recognized. My friend and I kept asking each other if she was in our graduating class or a spouse of one.
I found out later that she spent close to $80,000 for cosmetic surgery, hence, why she was unidentifiable. She was so proud of herself that nobody was able to recognize her. The other was a guy who was so snooty back in high school. We’re talking about the cliche “if your address wasn’t within a certain neighborhood, you weren’t good enough to acknowledge” kind of snobbery.
He arrived late for the dinner portion, and all the seats at his old friend’s table were already taken. So, he sullenly sat down with the likes of us, people you looked down on all your teenage life. I took pity on him because most of the people at the table probably remembered his attitude as well and ignored him.
I started asking him questions about how he fared since graduation, etc. I asked, “So what are you doing now?” He told me he was working at a law office. I replied, “That’s impressive. Are you a Lawyer? Studying to be a Lawyer?” He said, “No. I’m working on it”. “Oh? Articling?” He replied, “No”.
So, I asked him, “So what exactly is it that you do?” At that moment, the DJ cut the music so that the MC could announce that dinner was to be served shortly.
But before that happened, the Snob got frustrated with all my questions and stated loudly into the unexpected silence, “I’m a mailroom clerk!” Everyone stared, and accidental justice was served. The Snob was taken down a peg or two by his own hands.
31. Love Bites
I went with my wife to her reunion. I may have had one or three drinks before arriving, and when I got there, I remembered hearing a story of a guy who was my wife's third-grade boyfriend. Later in life, he had a rough time of things. As a joke, I wrote his name on my name badge and went about my business.
Not long after, a rather strong and stocky woman turned around, looked at me, then at my name tag. When she saw the name, she looked up at me, screamed excitedly as loud as I've ever heard, bear-hugged me while lifting me off the ground, and bit my neck. No blood, but she gave me a decent bruise.
32. Reunion Rental
At my 20-year reunion, two guys showed up with rented “dates”. One guy had been pretty popular and was pretty nice, if not a bit wild, in high school. The other guy was a hanger-on to the popular crowd, whom I barely remember.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Both of them had SIGNIFICANTLY let themselves go and looked like trash, yet they were strutting around with these girls who looked young enough to be their daughters.
The girls seemed disgusted by them but were playing the part for which, they were paid. The guys both proceeded to get plastered and brag about how successful they were and how they were sleeping with these girls. It was very cringe-worthy.
33. Out Of My Shell And Onto The Floor
person holding band aid on left handPhoto by Diana Polekhina on UnsplashI went to my reunion despite the high school having been difficult for me. I was the self-conscious girl who was pretty jumpy when someone would talk to me. I've long grown out of that, so I figured, why not go and see who I could talk to now? I spent the night talking with some people who I never talked with before because of the whole high school clique thing.
It was a great time, and then someone decided they were going to get severely trashed. He started an altercation with another guy for no reason, and the two of them crashed into me, and we all fell over into a table, breaking it in the process. I had some pretty intense bruising along my torso and hips. I also had a bruise going across my right cheekbone.
The authorities were called, and the dude was taken into custody. The guy he picked an argument with was taken in as well, although not charged with anything, and I was sent to the hospital. I had to take time off work for a few days. The guy's wife was nice enough to pay me back for my hospital bill, though.
34. There Are No Words
I was one of the first recipients of an alumni scholarship from the class of 1999. For their 20th reunion, the guy who organized the scholarship reached out and asked me to come as his guest to give a speech encouraging people to donate. I lived about an hour away but felt pressured and thought, sure. After all, I got the benefit. Why not pay it forward?
I wrote a speech, practiced, and wrote notecards. I showed up at this hotel, and the party was in the front lounge. It was swarming with people ten years older than me. I found the guy, and he started introducing me, explaining what I did now but got it wrong every time.
I asked him when I was going to speak, and he said later and told me to enjoy the food, then disappeared. By random happenstance, in this sea of people having a reunion, I ran into a guy who worked for my old community theater. I clung desperately to him so I wouldn’t be alone.
I found the guy again and asked him when I was going to speak, and again, he said soon. Then, I asked him where because I realized there was no stage, and the party was spread all over the lobby. He pointed to where the DJ was and where everyone’s pictures from high school were playing on a screen. Another hour passed, and it was time for the group picture.
Everyone herded over, and I stood nearby to be ready. I am among the spouses, girlfriends, boyfriends. They asked who I was there with, and I said I was giving a speech. They asked when; I said soon. At an adjacent party, a band started playing very loudly. People began shouting to be heard. It dawned on me that I may not give my speech.
I went to find the guy and asked when I was going to give my speech. He said, utterly guileless, that it looked like I didn't have to, but he hoped I had fun! I got home at midnight from someone else’s high school reunion with my unused speech in my purse. I haven’t heard from him since.
35. Repeating A Wrong
I waited at a high school reunion in a restaurant. There were about 20 ladies, and there was one woman who was kind of odd but nice. She ordered a glass of vino but no food. I was not paying too much attention, but all of a sudden, she was gone. The women were reassuring themselves that they did nothing wrong, and it was no one's fault.
When it was about time to pay the bills, I had hers, but she was still MIA. The women looked surprised and said, "She's not still here?" I finally found her in the bar by herself. She paid the bill along with her bar tab and left awkwardly. It turned out she was accidentally put on the email list for class reunions and showed up even though it wasn't her class.
When the women asked which Debbie she was because no one could remember her, she got really upset and stormed off. The women said she didn't even have a Facebook picture on her profile or anything, so when they tried to look her up, that didn't help either. The weirdest part was that she did this at the last reunion, too.
The same thing.
36. Wrong Choice Of Reunions
a woman laying in a hospital bed with an iv in her handPhoto by Stephen Andrews on UnsplashMy 10-year and my husband's 10-year reunions were both on the same weekend. We decided to do him because it was well organized and looked like fun, plus we hadn't been back there in quite some time.
They hired a little party boat to cruise around a lake for two hours. Before that, they had a meet-up across from the lake for lunch and a happy hour bar hop.
The festivities started around noon, boarding was at 10, and everything was supposed to be over at midnight except those who wanted to do an after-party. The first problem was the lake they picked was 45 minutes away from the area they all lived. People had to find their rides, which was a bit of an issue since many didn't have vehicles.
Eventually, most people who wanted to come were able to carpool. However, a couple of cars were pulled over on the way because they had been pre-gaming and shouldn't have been driving, or the passengers were throwing empties out on the highway. This was in the middle of the afternoon.
Problem number two was lunch and happy hour were the responsibility of the individuals. Not everyone believed they should pay, so some people ran up tabs in the name of the school's class of 2005 reunion and then ghosted. The restaurant and bars got angry and started stopping any patrons who said they were there for a reunion.
They then held them until authorities arrived, even though some of those people didn't add to the tabs. We thankfully arrived late and only went to the last bar on the list. We had already paid for the drinks we had, so we dipped before they rounded us up too. But things were still about to get bad, real bad.
Some of those places were trying to sue the school to get their money. The next problem was the boat; it wasn't huge. It had a main enclosed area, a small deck on both the front and back connected by a very narrow single-file gangway on either side, and an even smaller standing-only area on the roof.
Everyone boarding was already pretty tipsy. The cruise was split up, so the first thirty minutes were had a where are they now, in memoriam, pub quiz thing, etc. Then an hour was unlimited drinks and snacks with dancing and mingling. The snacks were baked goods that had been carried from venue to venue.
Things started a little awkwardly because the emcee was one of those who was stopped for drinking and driving. The second in command was held up at the bar, and the third person was already vomiting bright blue and pink over the side of the boat.
Eventually, someone started things off, made bad jokes that no one laughed at, got mad, and quit. People then found a boom box, turned on music, and started mingling, eating more baked goods.
Suddenly, a ton of people started getting sick, about 30 of roughly 70 people. Not only were they puking but it was coming out both ends for some. There was only one bathroom for each gender on board, so it was a nightmare. We were at the furthest point on the lake by then, so it was going to take a while to get back.
It was a mess; people were throwing up whatever they could find. The captain only had one person on board trying to help, but it was a losing battle. Since that was in the enclosed space, the rest of us tried hanging out on the decks to try to get away from the smell and the noise, so we were all scrunched together.
I had gotten separated from my husband but was chatting with people I'd met earlier through him when a guy came up and started hitting on me. We all just kind of laughed it off. After some drinks, I started to feel woozy and soon passed out. When I came to, I was in disbelief—I was inside a hospital, and I couldn't believe what happened. When they found me, I was turning blue. I was having seizures and had choked on my vomit.
The hospital told me I was drugged with GHB. They wound up keeping me an entire day because I was also covered in hives, and they weren't sure why. Over half the people on the boat had contracted Norovirus from suspected contaminated baked goods. I'll never attend any kind of reunion again.
37. Not Suitable For Children
My 10-year reunion was held at a bar owned by a former classmate; it started at 10 pm. The owner told people, “Adults over 21 only”. People said they needed to bring their kids and were told no. Several people brought their babies and toddlers anyway. Things quickly spiraled into chaos.
Parents drank like teenagers, and the kids ran wild. The owner called the authorities, who watched the parents be negligent. Parents were removed by some officers, and their kids were taken out by others.
38. The Vindictive Valedictorian
Our former Valedictorian, who was pregnant at the time, was getting high in the bathroom. Then, she got it into her head that the reason her husband was trying to get her to leave early was because he was trying to hook up with some other lady who was there.
She refused to leave, but some of her friends and husband got her to go outside to cool off. Two hours later, she got called up to the stage for a speech. She went off on everyone. Every dirty little secret or rumor from high school, she just vomited up and aired out everyone's dirty laundry.
A lot of relationships that had been together since high school got into altercations that night, thanks to her. All the big "popular kids" got dragged. It was like watching a trainwreck.
39. Move On, Buddy
man in black shirt singing on stagePhoto by Michel Grolet on UnsplashA classmate did a “comedy act” and began slamming a specific teacher that was well-loved and respected by those who knew her. He was one of those kids who got away with everything, and this teacher didn’t let him. They had one incident where he was caught trying to put something in the yearbook without her knowledge.
She caught him, and he was tossed off the yearbook staff. Although he seemed to do okay for himself with school and career, he apparently couldn’t let go of this teacher daring to do her job. So, we were “privileged” to hear his pathetic comedy act slamming her. It was sad that he couldn’t move on.
40. House Party Gone Haywire
I went to a tiny private high school. The graduating class was 60 people, and the majority of us were pretty close, so we decided to have an “unofficial” reunion five years after graduating. It was hosted at our class president’s parents’ very bougie house, complete with a gorgeous pool. We all got pretty trashed since most of us were still only 23.
It was all good fun until someone’s plus one girlfriend decided to squat in the MIDDLE of the pool deck to pee in front of EVERYONE. She then proceeded to BARF on her puddle of pee. Then our class president, our host, had to go to the hospital due to an allergic reaction to some of the potluck food.
41. Their Ruling Reign Came To An End
We had the jocks, preppies, and cheerleaders. They were the people who ran our school. Everything from the pep squad and dance committee to the yearbook and class president. They were a small group but great at manipulating people. I was a nerd in high school, so for our 20-year reunion, I tried to volunteer.
I was told to sit down and shut up. The reunion committee—and you can guess who they were—held a vote on where to hold the reunion. The overwhelming majority voted for a beach party. That didn’t suit the clique, who decided to hold it at the high-end hotel that belonged to one of their fathers.
So, there were two reunions held at the same time. Seventy-five percent of everyone went to the beach party. I got an email asking why I volunteered to help if I didn’t go to the “right” reunion. I told them to get back to me when they grew up.
42. We Got The McBoot
a mcdonald's sign with a cloudy sky in the backgroundPhoto by Jurij Kenda on UnsplashI was attending my 20th high school reunion with my girlfriend. I am a "person of color," and my girlfriend was Persian and with a dark complexion. We had driven about 120 miles to get to the reunion in my hometown and stopped at a McDonald's before we got there.
I needed to change clothes into something a little less comfortable while she waited in the lobby and ate. An Iranian woman can't just sit in the lobby and have a Big Mac or chicken nuggets without raising an eyebrow or two.
And her darkish boyfriend can't walk into a bathroom with a suit bag and spend 10 minutes or so changing clothes without being told to leave by the kid with the shift manager hat on. They had called the authorities and reported me/us as suspected terrorists because I must have exceeded the bathroom time limit while being the wrong shade of brown.
They thought I was putting an explosive in the bathroom to destroy the restaurant. I thought it was the funniest thing I had ever heard. My girlfriend and I had only been back in the US for a few weeks from deployment in Afghanistan.
The real kicker for me was that this wasn't just any McDonald's. This was the McDonald's that I used to work at many, many moons ago. It was my first real job other than a paper route. I used to work there, and they booted me out.
We were still in town the next day, so I had a little chat with the store manager about it. I wasn't even mad, but it was the principle of the matter. At least it made a good story at my reunion, which turned out to be pretty uneventful in itself.
43. Flabbergasted By A Familiar Face
My ten-year class reunion was a three-day event. The second night was the formal night which everyone and ones attended, with catered food, a rented venue, an open bar, a band, and the works. The night was going smoothly, and people were letting loose and having a good time.
As I went back and forth to grab drinks at the bar, I had this feeling that I knew the bartender from somewhere or had seen him before. I asked some friends, and they said the same. So, by the next round, I brought it up and said, “Hey don’t I know you from somewhere?”
He looked me straight in the face and went, “Yeah, I was part of the graduating class, I didn’t even get an invite”. THE POOR GUY GOT HIRED TO WORK HIS OWN REUNION THAT HE WASN’T EVEN INVITED TO!!! The worst accidental mistake I’ve ever been a part of, and I’m now that jerk who recognized him just enough to bring it up.
44. No Cause For Celebration
At my 10-year reunion, I was talking to a couple of girls I knew. I asked one girl how her dad was. She got sad and quiet all of a sudden and said that he had cancer. I said, “Oh! Did he kick it?” meaning did he beat the cancer? She said, “Yeah,” so I replied, “Hey, that’s great!” I then merrily carried on with the conversation, changing the subject.
However, I could tell from the look on her friend’s face as we kept talking that something had gone wrong a few beats back. So, I circled back and said, “So, how IS your dad?” I'll never forget the look on her face. She answered incredulously, “Uh...He’s not here anymore”.
It’s a funny misunderstanding in hindsight, but to this day, I’m annoyed that she thought I had nonchalantly asked if her cancer-ridden dad had kicked the bucket and then celebrated when she told me he had.
45. Her Psycho Stunt Backfired
person in swimming goggles in swimming poolPhoto by B Mat an gelo on UnsplashOur boy's swim team, which I was a part of, and the girl’s swim team were very comfortable with each other the year I graduated. I'm pretty sure every girl on the team had seen every boy without clothes on more than 20 times. The coach was retiring that year, so he didn’t care what we did.
The other way around was mostly true as well, as almost half of the girls graduating with me tried showering with us at least once or twice.
That year, my team captain threw a graduation party for us at his parents' house, and once the weed and drinks came out, we all made ourselves extra comfortable in the backyard pool. Ten years later, a reunion was planned, but it never happened. Ten years after that, a semi-formal twenty-year reunion took place in a very fancy hall.
One guy who had become very successful paid for almost everything. While we were all eating and talking and having a good night, this girl came bursting in like she had a mission. She started going on and on about how everyone treated her terribly in high school and how she didn't get an invite to the reunion, which went out to everyone on Facebook.
Tickets were available to buy for almost a year before the event. She also said how she didn't get an invite to the party ten years prior, either. At that point, everyone was confused. She went on to say that she wasn't invited to the graduation party, even though she lived right next door.
We on the swim team started looking at each other like, "Does she think our party was an official school party?" No one was invited to that; it just kind of came together.
Then, she pulled a bunch of papers out of her bag and started going from table to table, hurling the loose printer pages onto each table. When she got to our table, we could see that they were pictures from both parties that she had taken of us from her window.
I guess she was trying to embarrass us. She was promptly thrown out, and someone gathered all the papers and threw them out. Then, suddenly, everyone started laughing about it.
We were all old at that point, coming up in our 40s. Most of us were overweight, if not in terrible shape, and suddenly someone showed up with pictures of us in the buff from when we were young, fit, and hot. Half the people at the reunion were at the original party, so it's not like this was some deviating shocker.
The pictures from the second party were much more embarrassing, as people who were married were acting like they weren’t. However, I think no one besides those of us who were there really caught on that these photos were from two different decades. If they did catch on, no one mentioned it.
46. Let’s Get It On
At my 15-year reunion, two of our very popular, promiscuous, beautiful girls from high school were both going through high-profile divorces. Once about 60% of the people left, and all the rest of us were still there dancing, they got up together and cleared a circle around them on the dance floor.
They took off their clothes and started making out and rubbing against each other while the live band played. My husband and my best friend and her husband, and I were getting ready to leave when it started. We stopped and watched in disbelief like the rest of the group.
To think we almost walked out and missed this! No one could look away, but no one wanted to see it! Our husbands said it was the best reunion of their lives and never miss one now, hoping for a repeat performance.
47. A Party With A Premonition
A girl who didn't show up had her picture on the "In Memoriam" table with a candle lit. She didn't keep up with anybody, and everyone couldn't believe she was gone, but no one knew what had happened. The truth hit everyone in the face like a runaway train. She was, in fact, alive and showed up around halfway through, much to the surprise of everyone else. It was like seeing an actual ghost.
I was already shocked, but then she pointed at ME and called out MY name. Turns out, she thought I was the one spreading rumors about her "passing", since I was part of the planning committee for the reunion. Thankfully, after I explained to her that it the whole ordeal was just a miscommunication, she calmed down.
While she wasn't really happy about it initially, it all ended as a funny story. Then, she passed a year later. Our 20th is next year, and she'll be on that table again but won't be showing up.
48. Why Didn’t Anyone Tell Me?
man in white dress shirt sitting on couchPhoto by Ali Jouyandeh on UnsplashAt my 20-year reunion, I saw our class president, who married his high school sweetheart. We were all close as a class, and she wasn't there, which was uncharacteristic. I asked him where she was. He said, "Don't ask".
I was kind of confused by that, but they had been married a long time at that point, and I just figured maybe they had an argument or something. I found out not too long after that I was the last person in our class of about 150 people to hear she had tried to throw herself off a bridge. It was awful.
She had some underlying mental health issues nobody knew about. She's OK now after multiple surgeries and lots of therapy, but I still cringe thinking about when I asked him about her. I can't believe nobody told me about what happened to her.
49. Pick And Choose
My 10-year high school reunion was, of course, organized by the “popular kids”—the girls who still lived in our small hometown and were past their peak. They were rotten people. By the time our reunion rolled around, four from our graduating class had passed. At one point during the reunion, they had us all sit-down, and they dimmed the lights for a slideshow.
It was a memorial for ONE of our lost classmates, the one they were, of course, good friends with. I was so furious I stormed out. Maybe because I was friends with another girl we lost, but how self-centered do you have to be to have a class reunion and not have a memorial for everyone gone?
50. High School Secrets Spilled
I had this friend who got someone pregnant back in the day, and she kept the kid. They had both been great about it, and he helped financially, but that was the extent of his contribution. She married soon out of high school and met a great guy who has been the de facto dad.
Our reunion was a day to bring-your-kids-if-you-had-them type of event, and someone let it slip that my friend was that kid’s “real” dad.
The kid heard it, and it was a MESS. Everyone was trying to figure out who said that, and how someone could spill that secret, etc. In the end, my friend pretended he was shocked and laughed it off as a joke, which, honestly, in front of the kid was probably a good move.
Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.