Reunion

Niggas don't change, they just get older.....


That outstanding quotation was provided to me by one of my high school classmates during my 10-year reunion this weekend. She said it without rancor; it was just a random statement of fact to explain the actions of some of our classmates who didn't appear to have made the strides they should have in adulthood.

It cracked me up.

My reunion was an interesting affair. A friend of mine did a lot of the planning so I had been receiving regular updates on the activities planned and had a pretty good sense about who was coming before I arrived. All of the events were well executed, and I don't think anybody could complain that they didn't get their money's worth.

But, that doesn't mean that everything went off without a hitch; in fact there were plenty of hitches, glitches and, well, bitches. Of both genders. Some folks have managed to receive a Phd in trifling and evilness in the past decade, although that didn't apply to most of the folks who attended.

However, the quotation my friend made stuck with me because it rang so true when I applied to the happenings of the weekend. As I talked to people about where they were in life, what they had accomplished I was struck by how so many of us were doing impressive things, and had gained adult insight, but still had the same core personalities that we had in high school. In fact, I would argue that I probably changed the most out of any of my classmates (even the ones who had changed their sexual preference), and that was more a function of getting my raging hormones under control then anything else.

We as humans like to believe that were constantly evolving mentally and emotionally and to a certain extent there is some veracity in that thought. But, more than we realize, the blueprint for who are was laid a long time ago, and now all we're really doing is tweaking things. In other words, the cakes been mixed and baked, right now we're just playing around with the icing.

Some of y'all might not agree with me, and that's cool. My wife pointed out that people might have fallen back into their old behavior patterns because they were around the same old people. That made some sense to me; it is easy to get sucked back into what's comfortable and expected. Several folks still teased me about being a smart kid or used old football terms to start a conversation because that's who they remembered me as being. As she often does, the Little Woman made me rethink my conclusion and examine things from another angle.

But, I still like my thesis.

Truthfully, I don't know how I feel about my discovery. On one hand, it's soothing to know that the people don't change too drastically because it gives you room to plan how you're going to deal with them. Conversely, if people don't change that much, how those the world ever improve?

It was good to see my classmates again. Old friends, old loves, old enemies, I welcomed all of them back into my life for the weekend and I enjoyed their company. It was nice to fellowship with them, their spouses and their children and I look forward to the next time we have a class reunion.

After all, nobody will be a stranger, they'll just be a little older.