In different stages of your life, you’ll meet and encounter people that will either stay for a long time or have a short-time purpose in your story. They are from your childhood, your teenage high school phase, or earlier adulthood years. For most people, high school is a chapter that made a massive impact on their lives. It has special memories, as it’s a phase where you’re starting to learn about yourself.

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Friends and classmates play a huge role in your most unforgettable moments, including the bad ones. You may grow up with them and grow apart — chasing different paths honed by experiences. The beautiful and scary youth of high school may end, but all of you will meet again. It can happen in grocery stores, colleges, workplaces, or neighborhoods.

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Changes will be apparent during those mini-reunions. You’ll be shocked about how much your classmates have grown — mentally, physically, and emotionally. Those who were shy became outgoing, some of them have families of their own, while others pursued a career they’ve dreamed of since high school, and some have changed paths as well. You’ll discover more revelations once you attend your main high school reunion. Almost everyone will be there, and not just those you kept up with all those years. Interesting stories will crop up here and there — leaving you reminiscent during the event.

Redditors started a discussion about big surprises under Zdvj’s AskReddit post. He initiated the conversation with, “People who attended their high school reunion, what was the biggest surprise?” Many took an interest in sharing their high school reunion stories, and here are some of their answers.

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Clothing Preference

Since it has been a decade, your former classmates will also present themselves differently. “My 10-year reunion was held at a bar. It was all the same people at the bar as it was every weekend, but this time they were wearing nicer clothes,” survivalguyledeuce commented. You can see how far they’ve come from the person you used to see in the school hallway or work on projects before - or how far they haven't come. Everyone may have a more mature sense of fashion taste — an effective way to show others they are doing well after graduation.

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Career and Life Path

A lot can change in a year, what more in 10 years? You’d be surprised at how things turn out for your classmates. If you went through a life crisis, it’s inevitable to shift paths and try a career you’d never thought of before. Moreover, it’s jaw-dropping when you think the person who didn’t do well in high school is now leading a meaningful life. PM_Me_UrRightNipple shared the journey of former classmates whose lives are the complete opposite of their high school persona. The Redditor gave some examples such as, “The girl who couldn’t form a coherent sentence is now a teacher,” and “The bad kid joined the Army and now runs a small business and is doing very well for himself.”

Character Development

There’s the popular jock, the smart yet preppy student, the official mean girl, and the friendly nice guy. Ironically, the most famous among those personas is the school mean girl. Almost everyone wants to please her, which makes you think about what kind of future is waiting for her. For some popular mean girls, they could end up like the one from Hetventfour’s school.

“She was also really catty, embodying a lot of the 'Mean Girl' stereotypes. Talking with her at the reunion, it turned out that she was very insecure and had a very tenuous home life, for which she was compensating, and now she is extremely kind, full of gratitude, and just really down to earth. I love seeing that sort of change in people!”

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High School Crushes

Whether it’s heartbreak or a successful story, your crush made your high school more enchanting. They made you feel excited about going to school — anticipating an interaction you looked forward to every day. You were perhaps torn between confessing or just being content by admiring them from afar. And if you didn’t confess during high school, maybe the right time is at your 10-year reunion. It surprised juleztb more than anything.

He shared, “At some point of our 10y reunion, I asked the girl I had a crush on back in 7/8th grade if she knew that I had a crush on her. I just thought it was fun talking about that as adults. Turns out she texted me several times the next days, we met again, and now, almost 6ys later, we're engaged (for 2ys... but didn't marry yet ;)) and we have a house, a child, second child on the way, and everything is great. Not what I expected back then.”

The comment section was filled with various opinions and stories about their reunion. Some regretted attending, while others expressed their dislike for the event and never planned on attending one. How about you? Is it worth it to attend a 10-year high school reunion? If you already went to one, you might want to join the discussion below OP’s post. Also, it has an engaging comment thread, and you might recognize one of the stories.