Ms Fifikins

So how was it? It was good. Actually, it was great!

Yes, I was apprehensive and did what I tend to do when I get anxious, arrived early! The school had changed dramatically! Of course the first thing I saw when I arrived was the long jump pit, bringing back some pretty ghastly memories! I wandered around for a bit and found where we were meeting, still rather early!

Finally people arrived! We only had a small group at the school part of the reunion. Some good friends from school whom I hadn’t seen in years. Others who I had hadn’t necessarily thought much about in the last 20 years, but still seeing them again provoked memories. Of the people at the school, one of the general feelings was that our school days hadn’t always been the best. Sarah summed it up well when she pointed out we were all dealing with adolescence at the time too and that possibly clouded judgements.

I hadn’t actually thought of this. In my last post I commented on how obnoxious I was at school. Through comments on the blog and comments from people yesterday, apparently I wasn’t that obnoxious. Perhaps it was my views of adolescence or my consequences of my upbringing that formed these thoughts. I still have trouble liking the me as a teenager, recognising the cognitive changes I have made over the last few years.

I’m glad I made the effort to come down. I’m really glad I made the effort to go out afterwards with other people to the Geebung Hotel. Here there were more friends. People I did not recognise and people I remembered little of. Not necessarily in my circle at school, but great people. At the end of it I heard stories from them about their recollections of things that had happened. Things I had no idea about! Stories of peer pressure and rebellion. Stories of caring and concern for others. People I wish I was closer to then and now.

Throughout the day there were questions of me, my life then, in-between and now. People who I have caught up with over Facebook who have followed my ups and downs. People who have recognised my struggles and strength. It was lovely to receive this affirmation.

I took a few photos and will upload them to flickr when I get home. Home. Where my heart is. Questions from people about moving away and returning to Melbourne. Will I return? That is a tough one. I miss aspects of Melbourne. I loved seeing Autumn leaves and driving in fog this morning. I loved driving down streets I remember from my childhood. I loved visiting shopping centres and shops we don’t have up north.

But I wouldn’t be returning to relive my past. I wouldn’t be returning to send my children to the school I went to (it is now co-ed parallel education in years 10-12 with a boys campus for Prep-9). The people I caught up with, on the whole, no longer live near where they grew up. They may have moved shorter distances than I have, but there has been movement. Even those that are still in the same area have moved. We all have.

So thank-you to those who braved coming. It was a small group, but it was a great group. We all said that next reunion we wanted off site. And we wanted more people there. We want to know what people are doing and see them. To be together as a community again, perhaps only for a couple of hours, but to show that we are all lovely people who were shaped by their schooling. The resilience we had to learn at school has done us well for the future. Not ideal at the time, but it was what it was.