I went to my high school reunion and lived to talk about it.

This is copy pasta from the reunion blog but I wrote it so whatever.

I'm speaking for myself here but:

1. I'll take it a step beyond "less painful than expected" and say that it was actually 100 times better than I'd hoped. The best part is that I don't even think that's just in my own head -- I think the "I really wasn't expecting this to be as great as it was but I am SO GLAD I went!" sentiment is shared by many.

2. Everyone looked REALLY GOOD. Like polished, grown-up versions of their teenage selves.

3. Being in a room with all these familiar faces seemed soooo normal but also soooo surreal.

4. Maybe the people with the funny looking kids skipped the picnic but let me tell you: Lincoln grads make some adorable kids.

5. There was a bachelorette party being held at the same restaurant on Saturday night but we put them to shame. Granted, it looked like the most boring bachelorette party in history, but really, we had a great time.

The bottom line:

I'm glad we didn't have a 5 or 10 year reunion. I'm glad we waited until we all had the easy confidence of being in our thirties and that it was less of a "let me show you how great I'm doing" display and more of a "I'm doing well, I'm happy in my skin, I'm happy to be here and I'm genuinely happy to see you" kind of weekend.

And just for posterity, allow me to remind you of the before:



And the after, thank God:



Go Lions.