10 Year Reunions
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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 then 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 we're

both you and I have kind of moved back into the general Bay Area, which is our hometown and where our high schools were.

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. Yeah.

Well, it's interesting that you say that because Crystal, 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 10-year 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. I'm 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, oh, 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 are the emails they're still using now. Right. 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. Yeah.

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 going to feel really squished if more than X number of people show up. Yeah.

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. Otherwise, I wouldn't survive this cold. And when I was there eating with my friend, I was like, dude, we're fucked next week. It's going to be so cold.

But then seven days passed, all the rain stops, like the cold freeze or whatever was gone. The bomb cyclone or whatever was also far into the past. And it was just like a perfectly nice, mildly chilly day. It was 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 was like, we'll probably be okay. You're like, there's gonna be no snow. Yeah.

Okay, but as you've 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 than my high school reunions.

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, you know, 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. Right. 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 was 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 ours 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 talk 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. Like you don't get that same vibe hanging out one-on-one or with like a group of people. You only get that, oh, 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 to

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. 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 into 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. That's so funny. So I was just like quietly trying to pretend like I was one of you guys. That's so funny. 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 worry. 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 class. And then he gaslights them. He's like, what the fuck? We were in PE together. Yeah.

Well, it's funny that 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 fiance'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. But if you were a plus one, you have another neon sticker on top of that designating you a second class citizen slash plus one. So funny.

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 those awkward moments, you know, where people are confused whether you're a plus one or not. 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 favor 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. 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 bring 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. 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 our 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, we're 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.

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 of 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, yeah. I think that was like another thing. The vibes were immaculate, low-key.

It really was to the point where I was like 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 like wholesome. Yeah. I was like, oh yeah, like I feel the same way. Like where's the tea? Yeah.

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. Exactly. So maybe it weeded out people who would have neutral to negative vibes. Yeah.

It was so interesting. A lot of people ended up thanking me for like putting it all together. And I was like, oh, it was like, no bother. It's fine. I like didn't really think about it as a thank worthy thing. But it was interesting to see people were like very thankful that it happened.

I find it very fascinating honestly that you're like, "Oh, it's like no biggie 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/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. Yeah.

Watching you chat, I think, with like everyone who came by was very cool and it was very cute. Everyone just looked 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's like, can I get all those drink tickets?

I was like, wait, this guy ripped himself off because the ticket has the venue rental baked into it. It's okay. He's contributing to the cause. 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 of her. 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. Yeah.

Well, to an extent, I was shocked to be noticed. I was like, oh my god, I have like a physical body. I'm not just a wallflower. Oh my god, yeah. You mentioned that you're not going to your reunion though, even after such a, dare I say, successful reunion event. 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 like obligations and plans like many people do. And our reunion is actually scheduled to be just a couple of 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 going to be going. So they were like, oh, I'll tell you all the tea that happens if there is any tea.

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 10 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 vibes 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. Yeah.

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 to yours? Oh, yeah. I don't think I would go by myself. 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 like 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 at your 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 shocked to find out at your reunion? Actually, surprisingly, a lot of people are still in the Bay. I mean, I guess when you think about it, that does seem very reasonable, right?

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. Like I'm like not even exaggerating. Yeah. And half of them had been like working at some sort of startup. The other half was like 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, oh, are you in like the Bay SF or whatever? A lot of people were like, dude, I live a couple blocks from this place. 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 so dramatic. Everyone watches as the new person joins the event. Yeah. 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 a

fight breaks out or like people hook up or something like that but this one was literally just like oh my god like how 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

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. But my parents said for them, it's a 20 year reunion because there's a Chinese song that references like see you in 20 years. So they don't do 10 year reunions. They do 20 year reunion. Wow. That's pretty cool, honestly. Yeah.

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 look 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 seniors.

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. You know, like posting about this event on Facebook would not work out. Like probably no one is even checking that kind of stuff. Yeah. So I was surprised that some people were like, oh my God, like hopefully we'll have a 20 year reunion. I was like, dang, okay. I guess we'll see what happens when the 20 year rolls around. Yeah. Yeah. I

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 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 20 year reunion. You heard it here first. Someone else better fucking step up in 10 years.

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. Like it's hard for our parents too because they immigrated out of their countries. Yeah.

But recently, my mom went to one of her reunions and it was an elementary school reunion. Whoa. I know. I was like, dude, do you even remember who these people are? And she was like, well, it's different for us because they have a certain class or whatever that they spend the whole day with and whatnot. 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 that was pretty crazy. Well,

elementary school that's yeah that is crazy dude 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, they're so much more connected. Like, oh, I can tell this one of 50 person 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, where it's, you know, up to 500 people,

you don't know everyone. 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 going to 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 parents are like 60 something now you're probably way more comfortable like sharing details on things that have happened

Yeah. 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 fun news. 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. And I was like, oh,

Oh, okay. Doesn't sound very happy. Not what I was hoping to hear. Yeah, exactly. Dude, my parents have a reunion coming up next year. They're going back to China for it. 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 reunionizing um 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. And I'm sure when they come in, everyone's like "Oh my god, like all the way from California USA!"

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. Okay, 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 going to plan the 20th, but I'll plan the fucking 50th.

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's kind of touching just to know like, oh, maybe our class does hold a 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. Yeah.

Oh, that's great. And I remember people were like huddling around it, like flipping through 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 brought 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'm excited for my friends to go and fill me in afterwards. Thanks for attending, Jisoo. I know I kind of forced you to. A mandatory attendance. Well, it was really fun chatting about 10-year reunions, the concept of reunions, and kind of reminiscing about high school. For our listeners out there, if you have any thoughts about reunion, I don't know what to call it, like reunion culture. Reunionizing as we said earlier. Reunionizing.

Feel free to let us know. We have email eatyourcrestpod at 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 sometime in January.

On some Wednesday in January. Thanks for listening. And don't forget to eat your crust.