Hi, welcome back to Eat Your Crest Podcast. I'm Crystal, and I'm Jisoo.
Today we wanted to talk about kind of a unique event in our lives, which is high school 10 year reunions.
It's kind of crazy to think that we are at that time now.
I feel like when we were actually in high school, the thought of the 10 -year reunion seems so far and foreign maybe, now it's like, damn, we're here.
Yeah. Somehow I feel like there was more anticipation about a 10 -year reunion a couple years back, and now that the actual 10 -year reunions are happening, it's interesting to see who steps up in the, I guess, quote unquote, student body.
Also who is still excited to go, who is trying not to go, and see those paths diverge a little bit.
And I think it's especially interesting too for us because both you and I have kind of moved back into the general Bay Area, which is our hometown and where high schools were.
Yeah, so I feel like we also have different perspectives from people who moved away went to college out of state, etc. So true.
It can be a long journey to come back, because usually these reunions are held in the hometown area of the high school.
And I feel like just the concept of seeing all these people again is so nostalgic but also maybe like a little anxiety inducing.
Well it's interesting that you say that because, Chrisl, you actually hosted your high school's 10 -year reunion recently.
So what inspired you to step up and take on that role?
Honestly, I wanted to attend a 10 -year reunion.
It's just like an interesting event to go to, to see how everyone has grown up and matured and catch up with people who maybe you were close with in high school but just ended up not really keeping in contact with afterwards, how I ended up hosting my tenure reunion.
I actually reached out to my class president who I think that is traditionally the person who is in charge of planning this stuff.
I asked her if she was planning on organizing this event And she was like, no, not really, not like, not super invested, have little to no interest in hosting it.
I think also at the time she was out of state, so it would have been difficult for her.
And at first I was like, okay, that's a shame.
But as the year went by, I was like, maybe it would be kind of sad if we truly didn't have a reunion.
Sure, maybe some people have the stance of, I don't want to go, but like there could be just as many people who have the mindset of wanting to go.
And so it would truly be a shame if we didn't have one, just because these select few people didn't want to go.
Right. So I thought it would be better to have one than to not.
So I asked our class president again, just to like help out a little bit in terms of contact info and like reaching out to people that kind of stuff.
But I was like, if you don't want to plan it, like I can throw something together.
And it turned out not to be too difficult.
So it like it worked out in the end.
So then, what do you think ended up being a lot easier than you thought?
And what were some of the more challenging aspects?
Okay, I'm not even gonna lie, it wasn't hard at all.
If anyone has ever planned an event, like even their own birthday party, I feel like it's very similar.
So maybe something that was slightly more challenging is like reaching out to people.
I don't know if people's high school emails or the emails they're still using now.
Our class has a little Facebook group, so I posted in there and honestly I was just like, if you see it, you see it.
I think if people wanted to attend, they would they would make an effort to figure out if it's happening.
Yeah. Yeah, but like, honestly reaching out to a location, figuring out, that stuff ended up being even easier than I thought.
Maybe it's because the place I chose ended up just being like, really chill about it.
I was like, hey, can I rent out a space for like around 150 people and they're like, yeah, for sure.
Fill out a form online, you're set.
I was like, okay, that was like, super easy.
I feel like the venue you chose was nice, too, because it wasn't like a venue that had super strict entry rules or anything like that.
I feel like that would have added a layer of complexity and it also wasn't a place that had a strict capacity of like, it's gonna feel really squished if more than x number of people show up.
So then I feel like having that flexibility did help the logistics feel a lot more smoother and more seamless.
Maybe like the only downside was that it was outdoors and so it did get a little cold at night but I think for the most part it was like pretty solid.
It didn't end up being that cold that day, luckily.
I know, which is crazy because I work actually pretty closely to where that venue is.
So then the week prior I had gone out to dinner with my friend and it was like the coldest day of all time.
I was like, oh my god, thank god I have this brand new puffer jacket that I bought other words I would survive this cold.
And when I was there eating with my friend I was like dude we're futch next week.
Like it's gonna be so cold.
But then seven days pass all the rain stops like the cold freeze or whatever was gone the bomb cycle or whatever was also far into the past and it was just like a perfectly nice mildly chilly day.
That's great. I was thankful for that.
I think I was slightly worried about weather but also at the same time we're in California.
So I like, we'll probably be okay.
You're like, there's gonna be no snow.
Like, oh my god, okay.
But as you mentioned, you actually went to my high school reunion.
So how did that feel as someone who didn't go to like, my high school, I think it was a very interesting experience.
And I was actually more excited to go to this one behind my school reunion.
But there was a couple things that I felt so one was I thought more people would bring plus ones.
I was surprised to see that there wasn't a ton, and it's not that I know that many people that went to your high school and were in your class, so I guess I wouldn't have been able to decipher who exactly was a plus one and who wasn't from a distance.
But from what I could see, most people were chatting about high school memories and whatnot.
The only plus ones that I could kind of figure out were the ones that I already knew.
we kind of had a little plus one huddle in the corner, which is nice.
Honestly, like, going to your high school reunion, I kind of felt like, damn, it's a shame that I won't be able to go to R's because it kind of felt very special being there.
And this is the mindset that I kind of had, not going to mine, slash what I think a lot of people might commonly feel, is, you know what?
I'm like close by to my hometown.
I still talked to a ton of high school people if I wanted to keep up with them or catch up with them I would be in touch with them still.
What is the true value added of me going to like a reunion, right?
But actually being there I was like, you know there is something special about getting everyone in one place and hanging out because That's what truly takes you back to like school times Yeah Like you don't get that same vibe hanging out one -on -one or with like a group of people you only get that we're at like a school assembly vibe when there's 150 of your classmates at a beer garden outdoors on a cold night it did feel very special and i was like this is awesome but i will say i felt like i had to fend for myself a little bit as a plus one because i didn't want to be like the old ball and chain being
like oh introduce me to all of your classmates james yeah yeah i mean honestly i feel like a lot of people that ended up going, I maybe knew their face, or I knew their name, but then I like didn't remember the other part.
I knew their face, but I forgot their name or I knew their name, but I forgot their face.
At first, I was too embarrassed, I guess, to be like, oh, what was your name again?
But I think towards the middle, and like, after more people came, it felt way more normal, and like understandable, to be like, oh my God, I remember you, but like, I totally forgot your name.
I'm so sorry. So I wonder if anyone came up to you and said that.
So actually you and your boyfriend and me and James the four of us carpooled.
Right. And when we had gotten to the venue, there was already like a little group of people who had showed up and were kind of like excited to hang out and chat.
And when the four of us walked up to that group, this guy turned around and said to me, he was like, Oh, I remember we like chatted a little bit.
But I had no idea who this person was and I just thought it was funny that he said it to me First and then turned to James.
So in my head, I was like, oh my god.
I'm like assimilating it The world of this high school You're like I'm basically this high school alumni.
Yeah We like shook hands and I was like, yeah It's so nice to see you again because I didn't want to be like, I'm a plus one.
I didn't go here yeah so funny so i was just like quietly trying to pretend like i was one of you guys i i know at one point in the night someone was chatting with me and a few other people and then they turned to my boyfriend and was like oh i'm so sorry i don't quite remember who you are and he was like oh no i'm like a plus one don't you like you don't know me dude he should have assimilated just like me.
There was two paths there that he could have taken.
No, but then he says his name or something and then they'd be like, I don't remember that person being in your class.
And then he gaslights them.
He's like, what the fuck?
We were in PE together.
Well, it's funny you say that because I was just hanging out with my friend last night.
She was telling me that she had recently gone to her fiancé's reunion.
Yeah, and she said that when she got there there were little name tags for everyone to like write their name on Just to like jog people's memory.
Yeah, but if you were a plus one You have another neon sticker on top of that designating you a second -class it is it And I was like, oh my god, I don't know how I would feel about that on one hand It would help to avoid this awkward moment, you know where people are confused whether you are a plus one or not but but I feel like in some ways it could be potentially alienating slash othering I don't know but I think it worked out to her favorite because she said she had a little group of other plus ones and you're like able to easily identify the other plus ones because of that sticker they're
like okay that huddle over there is just a plus one huddle that's the safe circle yeah also though speaking of plus ones I think I agree with you where I was kind of surprised not more people brought plus ones yeah i specifically said when i like posted about the event i was like plus ones are welcome i was hoping more people would freak plus ones you know what i thought was also funny was when people came into the venue you can kind of see who they're coming in with all right since i wasn't an alumni i was like observing you know like i wasn't the one actively catching up with classmates i was just
like looking around occasionally talking to your boyfriend or some of her other friends plus ones I thought it was interesting when people came in by themselves because that's kind of like a power move in my mind I guess and I also noticed that a bunch of people came in like groups of three or four which to me is very similar to like what happens in high school you hang out with like your friend groups or like a couple of friends and you go to things together so I was like oh my god this is like very nostalgic you know yeah I feel like having a buffer I guess one or two people at least to go with definitely makes
you feel less awkward probably.
When I was putting all of this together I guess like the biggest worry I had was like what if no one shows up.
So I like forced our little friend group I'm hosting this so you guys all have to come.
Where you texted me I expect you and James to be there.
I was like no worries coming i was like this is a very stern text message yeah it's funny too because i think actually most of our friend group who did go to high school with me were very iffy about the reunion or maybe like on the fence and then because i ended up putting it together and kind of forcing everyone implying that everyone needs to go because i put it together they're like okay fine like i'll go yeah but i mean i think even the people who were hesitant about going and honestly even day of i feel like before their reunion there was a little bit of sentiment of like is it just going to
be us talking in a corner the whole time or something like that yeah despite all these worries i think everyone ended up having a good time catching up with faces that they forgot about and stuff and yeah just like hanging out and chatting it was like very good vibes.
Yeah, I think that was like another thing.
The vibes were immaculate, low key.
It really was. To the point where I was chatting with one of your guys' classmates and he was like, you know, I showed up trying to gather tea, and like find out what the latest gossip is, but no one's been gossiping, it's just been very wholesome.
Oh yeah, I feel the same way, like where's the tea yeah everyone was just like happy to be there and really friendly they came with a positive attitude basically and i think that's what really made it my guess is like maybe people's attitude was like oh i'll show up and see how it is worst case you know i can just dip early right no one came like grumpily if that makes sense yeah i guess if you really didn't want to be there you wouldn't come anyway so maybe it weeded out people who would have neutral to negative vibes.
It was so interesting.
A lot of people end up thanking me for putting it all together.
And I was like, oh, it was no bother, it's fine.
I didn't really think about it as a thank worthy thing, but it was interesting to see people were very thankful that it happened.
I find it very fascinating, I honestly, that you're like, oh, it's like, no, Vicki.
Because I feel like it's a big task to take on.
It's like, one thing to do something that's kind of handed to you slash expected of you and then another thing to like step up be like yeah it's fine I'll just take care of it.
Your boyfriend and I were watching you float through the groups throughout the night because the other thing too is that since you're the host you had all the drink tickets in your hand right so it was almost mandatory that everyone who attended the reunion came up to you and like checked in with you.
Watching you chat I think with like everyone who came by was very cool and it was very cute.
Everyone just like so happy to talk to you slash get a drink ticket at the end of the night a lot of people came up and were like hey do you have like extra drink tickets that people like didn't pick up or something yeah also a really funny thing is someone bought five tickets because each ticket comes with a drink ticket at first i just thought that this person was going to bring four plus ones but then i realized because he came up to me he was like can i get all those drink tickets i was like wait this guy ripped himself off because the ticket has the like venue rental baked into it oh it's
okay he's contributing to the cost yeah like this is my investment into the vibes yeah yeah but i thought that was funny i was like oh yeah i guess that is like a method you could have just bought a bunch of like drink tickets actually i think we witnessed that conversation and then me and your boyfriend were just watching and then he turned to us he's like guys i swear i actually bought these tickets i'm not just trying to rip them off okay so we're like it's okay we didn't think that at all you're like actually it seems we're like crystal ripped you off well to an extent i was shocked to be
noticed i was like oh my god i have like a physical body like i'm not just a wolf flower oh my god yeah you mentioned that you're not going to your reunion though even after such a dare i say successful Reunion of it if I do say so myself.
But yeah, I am not attending ours.
I mean, part of it is just logistics, so usually around the holidays, I tend to have a ton of obligations and plans, like many people do, and our reunion is actually scheduled to be just a couple days away from Christmas time.
So I was like, I think just timing -wise, it doesn't work out.
there's like things i have to do but i do have a bunch of friends who are gonna be going so they were like oh i'll tell you all the tea that happens if there is any.
yeah i know you were more on the skeptical side slash on the fence about going to your own but do you feel like you were more encouraged to try to go to yours after seeing what like a ten -year reunion looked like?
honestly yeah after going to yours i was like damn it sucks out that the logistics didn't work out and I have to miss mine because I do think it would have been fun.
But I will say the one factor that does leave a little bit of hesitance for me is your high school class is a lot bigger than ours.
So then I feel like there's a different set of like maybe fives or expectations that come with like a bigger high school class versus a smaller one.
Oh, okay. That's fair.
That's fair. I mean, yeah, like, ultimately, my class is about 500 people.
And we had about 150 people show up, which, I guess, like, percentage wise, is not the greatest but at the same time, like, 150 is a lot of people.
I feel like that's a huge success, honestly.
I remember our class being, like, less than 400 people.
So I guess quantity wise, it's not, like that big of a difference.
But there was a little bit of like a smaller high school vibe to our class I would say yeah and with a lot of people staying in state I feel like the circles have just kind of stayed the same So I don't know what will happen at our reunion, but I'll report back if there's anything interesting Would you drag James with you if you did end up going tears?
Oh, yeah Well, I guess I could have just like gone with a bunch of our friends and whatnot but from what I've gathered from our friends it seems like a decent number of people would bring their plus ones so maybe ours would have had more of a plus one vibe than your reunion that's super cool I feel like it's just so interesting to see the people a lot of your friends or fellow classmates end up with and sometimes it's even more interesting because they end up with each other but you just didn't know oh yeah that's true Did you have anything like that you're a reunion?" There was someone who said
he ended up dating someone from our class but she couldn't make it this time.
So I was like, Whoa, that's crazy.
What were some other things that you were like shocked to find out at your reunion?
Actually, surprisingly, a lot of people are still in the bay.
I mean, I guess like when you think about it, that does seem very reasonable.
But I guess I was also at the same time a bit surprised that more people weren't out of state.
I feel like a good chunk of my class went to school out of state and I feel like sometimes that results in staying out of state for work, but yeah I think most people who ended up coming are like still in the bay.
I feel like to me it's clicking because I think every single person that I talked to at your reunion was an engineer.
I'm like not even exaggerating and half of them had been working at some sort of start -up, the other half was in big tech. yeah so i feel like that's very san francisco vibes okay yeah that's true that's very like my high school vibes like stem and all of that.
but it was also funny because a lot of people i would ask like are you in the bay, sf or whatever a lot of people were like dude i live a couple blocks from this place and i was like wow.
they got lucky with the logistics then.
i think i had an expectation for 10 year reunions maybe like it was a very hyped up expectation because I feel like in media, it's portrayed as a very dramatic thing.
Do you know what I mean?
People make their entrance and it's like so dramatic everyone watches as like the new person joins the event.
There's whispers and goss about who showed up and like with who and like all that kind of stuff.
But as we mentioned, actually being there, it was just like way more chill.
And it was just like positive vibes in that aspect.
I thought it was kind of funny yeah that's a good point and I feel like also 10 -year reunions in the media have some sort of drama like if a fight breaks out or like people hook up or something like that but this one was literally just like oh my god like have you been catch up on life and just things that have happened in the last 10 years and then everyone went home like no one was belligerent or too drunk or being mean or gossipy it was just like very wholesome yeah I think it's also interesting because these like 10 -year reunions or whatever are kind of universal almost. My parents have talked
about having reunions, but for them, it wasn't high school, it was college, because their college class was like really small, and so they ended up knowing everyone.
Unlike us, I feel like it would be impossible to like even know more than i don't know 10 people in our college class right but my parents said for them it's a 20 -year reunion because there's a chinese song that references like like see you in 20 years so they don't do 10 -year reunions they do 20 -year reunions wow that's pretty cool honestly.
i do think too like the 20 -year reunion would be more memorable or like monumental i guess because that's when you can truly live back and feel nostalgic like i feel like 10 year i don't feel removed enough yet true true i'm like that was just yesterday that we were all like two years so true oh my god actually speaking of that there were a few people who were like so 20 -year reunion and i was like oh my god like i didn't even think people would actually be down for a 20 -year reunion like you said by 20 years you definitely feel more removed right and you probably have even less contact with everyone.
Posting about this event on Facebook would not work out.
Probably no one is even checking that kind of stuff.
So I was surprised that some people were like, oh my god, hopefully we'll have a 20 -year year.
I was like, dang, ok.
I guess we'll see what happens when the 20 -year rolls around.
Yeah, yeah. I wonder if it'll be one of those things where people are more willing to come now that they're more removed so then the participation spikes up or I could also see it going the inverse way where it's like, oh damn that was a long time ago, like this doesn't feel as relevant anymore so then like less people show up.
I would definitely expect less people to show up than than for the 10 year but I mean, you never know so I guess we'll see what happens in 20 years like if anyone even puts it together.
Just because I hosted the 10 year reunion is not a commitment to me hosting the What about you?
You heard it here first, someone else better fucking step up and ten you.
Dude, it's crazy too because I was also talking to my parents about reunions and whatnot.
And I think my dad has gone to some, if he could potentially make it.
It's hard for our parents, too, because they immigrated out of their countries, but recently my mom went to one of her reunions and it was an elementary school reunion.
Oh I know I was like dude do you even remember like these people are and she was like well it's different for us because they have you know a certain class or whatever that they spend like the whole day with and what -not but she remembers a couple of them and they have like the tea on what happened to people who like stayed back in their hometown and whatnot so my mom was catching up on everything because she had moved out of her hometown after she got married but I just thought it was pretty crazy Wow elementary school that's yeah that is crazy she said it was like less than 20 people although i
will admit maybe like having a smaller group to start with so like for example your mom having elementary school reunion i'm sure to even begin with it was probably maybe like 50 or 60 people max right and then you said about 20 people ended up going i feel like in those cases it is definitely more gossipy because like you said they're talking there's so much more connected like oh I can tell this one of fifty person like did not show up what's the tea on them more than likely someone who is there will have heard whisperings or at least know a little bit about what's going on but for like a big
high school class like mine or it's you know up to 500 people you don't know everyone.
even even if you think you might know everyone, you probably don't.
That's like a lot of people to remember.
And so it's harder to like pick out specific events or like questions to ask almost. Yeah, that's a good point.
I think also like since we are all still fairly connected to high school people, you're not gonna air out dirty laundry of the people that you're close with.
Or you know, you might not feel as comfortable sharing out to like a group of 150 people like the latest craziness that's been going on in your life.
But if you're showing up to like your 30 -year elementary school, dude, honestly, it's even more because my friends are like 60 -something now.
You're probably way more comfortable like sharing details on things that have happened.
But I will say I asked my mom, I was like, oh my God, what's the gossip on your elementary school classmates?
And she was like, dude, at our age, it's not gossip.
it's like sad news about people getting sick or passing away or I guess the juiciest gossip is like divorce or something which isn't necessarily a fun news okay so she was like yeah I was just like a little bit sad after but I guess it was nice to connect with my elementary school friends mm -hmm and I was like oh okay does it sound very happy I was hoping to hear exactly dude And my parents have a reunion coming up next year, they're going back to China for it.
Oh, wait, that's so cute.
Yeah, it's a college reunion, I think because their class is so much smaller.
So I think it's like their department reunion kind of they majored in whatever.
So it's like all the people in that year who took this major are reunienizing.
And I think because it's like a smaller group, they almost feel more obligated to go.
And so they're making the effort to like fly back to China next year and try to go to the reunion.
Unless of course logistically it doesn't work out.
But as of now, they're like, okay, we're blocking off these two months because it could be happening in between this time.
And I was like, whoa, dedication.
That is so cute, honestly.
yeah and i'm sure when they come in everyone's like oh my god like all the way from california u .s .a yeah like i wonder in that generation how many people ended up immigrating out it's probably really crazy then for like reunions to see these people who left the country come back and catch up with them oh yeah i'm sure it's such a different experience too from us probably But who knows maybe in like a couple decades we will be in similar positions.
I have a question for us.
Yeah. If you saw there was news about a 50 year high school reunion, would you go?
Wait, 50 years? I need to do the math.
I guess we would be like 68?
Oh, I would totally go.
Oh my god. Yeah. Okay.
Good to know. You're like I'm not gonna plan the 20 year.
i'll plan the fucking 15th year no but also you're right because we'd be pretty old by then and so we probably have like nothing else to do might as well go to the reunion i think like once my kids are in college like i'll go to all the reunions actually someone came to our reunion and she was pregnant and i was like wow like thank you so much for coming even though you're pregnant it's really nice to reconnect and see them and it was kind of touching just to know like oh maybe our class does hold this special place in a lot of people's hearts, whether or not they admit it.
Yeah, yeah. Wait, I totally just remembered someone brought a yearbook, and I remember people were like huddling around it like flipping to their pages and stuff.
I was like this is so fucking cute.
Yeah. That's funny.
I totally should have brought one.
I'm literally from yearbook too.
But once we got there, then I was like, Oh, I should have bought a yearbook for everyone.
Well, all in all, I thought it was very, very special and nice to attend your guys' high school reunion.
Even though I'm not attending mine, I am excited for my friends to go and fill me in afterwards.
Thanks for attending, Jisoo.
I know I kind of forced you to.
The mandatory attendance.
Well, it was really fun chatting about 10 year reunions, the concept of reunions, and kind of reminiscing about high school and for our listeners out there, if you have any thoughts about reunion, I don't know what to call it like reunion culture.
Reunionizing? Reunionizing, as you said earlier.
Feel free to let us know we have email eatyourcrestpod .gmail .com and we also have Instagram at eatyourcrestpod.
Also this will be our last episode of this year so as usual you'll hear from us again next year.
And if you'd like to catch our other episodes then don't forget to follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
We'll upload a new episode some time in January.
On some Wednesday in January.
Yeah, thanks for listening.
And don't forget to eat your crust.
