To The Class Of 2009

 Here's the thing.

If you spend thousands upon thousands of hours across most of your life with the same group of people, they tend to leave an impression on you.

Even if you don't know each other very well, don't talk very often, or wouldn't even consider yourselves 'friends', their faces and personalities have always just kind of been there; a comforting constant that was the backdrop of learning, growing up and discovering things together. 

Then you leave high school, and don't see each other for a very long time.

THEN you go to a reunion years later (five, to be precise - oh gosh I'm so old I think I'm supposed to know how to adult now), where the place you spent those thousands of hours has been transformed into something straight out of the bloody Starfleet Academy, but bizarrely juxtaposed with the exact same shitty 60s lino, doors and bubblers that more defined our time there.

We also got a shiny photo:

D'aww. 

So to my fellow old collegians, I want to get a few things straight:

1. You all look exactly the same. But in nicer clothes. 
2. I highly enjoy seeing you all kind of more than what you were -  more confident, content, creative, open, educated, well-travelled; whether you're climbing your way up a law firm, spend your days teaching small children or doing things with science I don't understand, it makes me happy. 
3. No matter where you go, who you're with or what you achieve, know that I will always, always stalk your wedding photos on Facebook. 

See y'all in five years I guess.