High School Musical...er...Reunion - Part One

*Note - this post will probably be incredibly boring to most people.

I am one of those people who actually really really loved high school. Loved it. Not many people say that, but I did and do and still love people that I went to high school with 20 years ago. In fact, some of them are still my favorite people on the planet, and I have met some wonderful people in my life. 20 years has just made them more interesting.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend a multi-class reunion. They decided to have it be the Class of 1986-1990. I didn't know anyone from the class of 1986, but that didn't seem to matter. There was a lot of love and everyone was just introducing themselves if they didn't know someone.

Friday night kicked off the reunion with a Happy Hour at a restaurant called Aunt Chilada's. It's a fun restaurant, but the parking was an issue and it was super crowded because it was Friday night. It was hard to tell who was there for our reunion and who was just there drinking. There was a LOT of drinking going on. But, I guess you would expect that from a happy hour. I arrived around 6pm and saw my friend Claudia and made a beeline for her.

Claudia and me

Claudia graduated in 1989, but was one of my closest friends in high school. When she turned 18 we went to buy a lottery ticket and they made me hold it while walking out because she looked so young. She also got carded at a PG-13 movie. It was hilarious because I believe she was 17 at the time. My mom and Claudia and I used to go to movies together.

Jay and me

My Sophomore year of high school was an eventful year for me. I had made the cheerline so life got busier. I also had a class in the Science Building (picture in future post) after lunch. Every day I would walk down the sidewalk into the building and see a River Phoenix/James Dean look-a-like by the name of Jay Connolly. I went to drastic measures to meet him, and ultimately we became the very best of friends. When my mom would go out of town for work, she would have Jay come and stay with me! That seems hilarious now, but we were like brother and sister. He graduated a year before me, but took me to my Senior prom.

Jay and me - 1990

I spent some time hugging and catching up with several friends. I was surprised to see that I actually knew a lot of people there. Some people I had forgotten entirely about so seeing them again was wonderful. And then, across the crowded room, I spotted Amy.

Amy was a Senior when I was a Sophomore and Captain of the cheerline. I had actually had a "I like you, you like me, now what?" moment with her younger brother when we were in 8th grade, so I was convinced that she wouldn't like me. Of course we became very good friends, and spent a lot of that year hanging out. I hadn't seen her since my high school graduation. I pointed to her and literally hollered, "I cannot believe I am looking at Amy Ballard!!!" There are some people that you just wish had stayed in your life, even if that would have been impossible. Amy is one of those people. Claudia and Jay DID stay in my life.

Amy and Heidi

I saw many friends that night and I won't bore you with too many pictures. There were probably hundreds of pictures taken by all of the people there. I just have to add one more picture, however, because the woman in this picture had a very profound influence on everyone at my school at one time or another.

I met Regina the second day of my Freshman year in Spanish. She was a Junior and when she talked, she sounded like she had laryngitis. And that is how we met. I turned around and said, "Do you have laryngitis or does your voice always sound like that?" She laughed one of those throw back your head laughs and said, "I just always sound like this." That was 22 years ago and she still sounds like she has laryngitis.

Over the years I have tried to find her, and was successful shortly after I married Dave, because I literally called every Regina Battle that I found in Phoenix. I had no idea if she stayed there, but when I heard her voice on the answering machine I was ecstatic. She called me back and we got caught up and have stayed in touch ever since, but just hadn't seen each other yet. Of all of the people at the reunion, I was most excited to see her.

Regina is one of those women that lights up a room and makes everyone around her feel like gold. And literally - she knew every single person at the reunion and could remember specific details about them. I heard over and over again the statement, "Regina SAVED me in high school." I sat back enjoying the moment as I saw her soak up everyone's energy and love. Regina and her husband are ministers now and one of the major reasons she agreed to go to the reunion was so that she could be a missionary to her friends. There were many people there that simply needed to see her. Regina is stunningly beautiful - both then and now. I am very blessed to have had her as a friend and I am so grateful that we are back in each other's lives now!

Regina and me - 2009
Regina and me - 1989

Like I said, there were many other friends that I was able to see. Here is a mosaic for you!

Top: Amy Trottier and Michelle Ely; Claudia McNaughton, Amy Trottier, Michelle Ely; Amy Trottier and Tara Ruiz; Mina Cholas, Jessica Starr, Rob Hanse
Middle Top: Gen Barson and Shawna Sterne; Heidi Rasmussen, Carl Bisbano, Shawna Sterne, and Amy Trottier; Regina Battle and Claudia McNaugton; Glenn Noone, Danny Flower, Ron Sanchez, Mohammed Oliver, and Jimmy Satterlee;
Middle Bottom: Mike Devito, Michael Levin, Glenn Noone, Kenny Munoz; Mohammed Oliver, Glenn Noone, Todd Lehman, Joel Price; Mohammed Oliver, Ron Sanchez, Dana Andrews; A bunch of people
Bottom: Amy Ballard, Mohammed Oliver; Aimee Rogers, Sharon Newkirk, Tony Romanello, Amy Ballard, April Burke; Regina Battle, Heidi Rasmussen, Amy Ballard; Heidi Rasmussen and Robert Arellano