My graduating class of 1991 could not have dreamt that 30 years later they would be sharing stories from high school days via tiny boxes on a Zoom screen — strangely echoing the hit 1980s show, The Brady Bunch. Yet there we were, one Sunday evening in October 2021, about 25 people scattered across Australia and the world, all of whom had spent their formative teenage years together in a suburban public high school in Sydney’s north.
Thanks to Facebook, about 100 ex-students were sent the invitation, from a total of 200 in our year. I’d convinced a close friend, Jen, an artist with no social media presence, to join. She was skeptical — we’d both attended the 10-year reunion in 2001 as fresh-faced 27 year-olds, where everyone bragged about their careers, international travel, attendance at the Sydney Olympics and success in the city’s real estate market. Groups of friends had stuck together, including the cool kids. The event was fun, but still felt like high school.
In 2011 Jen attended the 20-year reunion in a noisy Sydney pub, where the competitiveness was beginning to ebb, with conversation focused on careers, children and, as always, the price of Sydney real estate. I was unable to attend, being 39 weeks pregnant and living 500 km away.
Fast forward 10 years and Zoom was the only option for our 30-year reunion, due to COVID and Australian lockdown rules. What a blessing in disguise! Students who had been living overseas or interstate were able to participate, and they were delighted. These students had left Sydney many years ago, yet still felt connected via the shared thread of high school, and expressed their gratitude and being able to finally catch up. Indeed, it was a joy to see faces not seen for 30 years and hear Australian accents shaped by decades of living in other countries.
Jen messaged me after the Zoom reunion ended. She was pleased — the one-upmanship from the past reunions was gone, she’d thoroughly enjoyed herself chatting with people about teenage experiences between 1986 and 1991 and the different life paths taken. Attendees recalled fun times and laughed about pre-internet activities that our children will never understand. More than that, some openly shared about major life events — divorce, cancer, unemployment and the sad news that 10 students from our graduating class had passed away.
Our Zoom reunion video has been viewed over 100 times, with many non- attendees commenting it was lovely to see everyone’s faces. Lovely it was — men and women with such different lives, coming together for one hour to reminisce, laugh and solemnly recall classmates no longer with us. In 2031 we shall gather once more — and Zoom may have a role to play.
