It is almost impossible to spot an adult who has zero friends as kids growing up even as an extreme introvert. This is because as children there is always an avenue where you get to meet kids your age whether you want to or not. During the weekdays, the earliest part of it is spent in school learning in a classroom surrounded with people that you end up bonding with. After school, it's playing outside with kids in the neighborhood and even if you are not allowed outside by your parents, there's always the possibility of meeting them in church on Sundays so there's just no way to completely avoid having friends even with effort.
As we grow older, some friends stand the test of time while others drift apart probably due to distance, life changing choices and other decisions. Years of absence from childhood friends sometimes leaves a sense of yearning that can be partially soothed if everybody gets to see each other again. However the hype surrounding these gatherings never usually meets up with the reality. To some people, the thought of meeting up with friends from our childhood is usually exciting until your brain starts asking this question: "What if you reunite with them only to discover we are all strangers who know nothing about each other?".
There used to be a time when these people meant everything to you, talking, laughing, sharing secrets, fought, made-up and making promises that felt would last a life until life happens and now you don't even know anything about them anymore.
During the 2020 pandemic, a few of my classmates and I decided it was time for a reunion after over 5 years of graduating secondary school. A few of us created a Whatsapp group and added almost everybody except for about three guys who were no longer in the country. The first day was really exciting because everybody was talking, sharing stories and reliving the memories we once had. I could not contain the excitement and from the way things were going, it felt like we were definitely heading in the right direction. After the first week of active communication (especially bantering), the energy dropped exponentially and a lot of folks started losing interest. Realizing this will eventually turn the group into a ghost town of nothing is done, we decided it was time to plan a reunion. The idea was accepted from the jump but when it got down to making preparations for it very little effort was put into it so the idea was never made a reality that entire year.
A few years pass and this time, the three absentees were back home so again the suggestion of a reunion resurfaced. With everybody present the idea gained incredible momentum and it actually happened on the Christmas of 2023. The event hall was packed with people, there was food, drinks and games just in case we needed it for shake things up. At first, everything seemed so exciting people were laughing, telling stories, revisiting old memories and also trying to catch up with what we've missed in each others. After all was done, I began to notice a lot of things, some folks started to withdraw from others for reasons best known to them and the married ones especially the women just sat and watched. It soon dawned on me that a lot of us in that room were practically strangers and reconnecting was going to be difficult. I also realized that some of my classmates did not come to the reunion to socialize with old friends, they were there to show off their accomplishments and also make others who were not really doing so well feel bad about themselves.
The party did not even last long as people started disappearing one after the other without even saying goodbye. What I once thought would be a great way to see people I once shared a lifetime with turned out to be a disaster with a terrible ending. I sent back home to discover that over half of the class had exited the Whatsapp group and till this very day it is still very much dormant. I don't think another Reunion will ever be possible because of how things ended. In the entire class I only talk to just three of my mates and this is because I've known them the longest... It's not easy dealing with people and quite frankly I don't even look forward to this meetups ever again.
Thank you...
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