Reunion

Back in elementary school, one of the first equations I wanted to solve for myself was how old I would be in the millennium. I did the math and the answer was 32 years old. The number seemed so enormous and distant I filed it away under the category of things that would never come to pass.

I graduated high school in 1985, a few months ahead of the rest of my class, so that I could travel to Jerusalem and begin my college studies at the Hebrew University. When I completed my studies in Psychology and English Literature, the graduation ceremony rolled around. This time, I was away, traveling in Europe.

A few years later, in New York City, I graduated from MFA Photo and Related Media at the School of Visual Arts. Me and a few other friends skipped the ceremony and just played guitar and drank all day in an East Village apartment.

The only graduation I ever attended was for my second Masters degree, in Digital Photography, also from the School of Visual Arts. I thought about skipping that as well, but I knew HRM would be there too. So I donned my cap and gown an sat one row behind her at Radio City Music Hall.

Yesterday in Antigua Guatemala, my High School class celebrated a 40th year reunion. I haven’t seen 90% of my childhood friends since I left Guatemala in 1985. And although some of their faces are immediately recognizable to me from this photo, I would have needed name tags to help me identify the rest.

Work kept me from traveling for the reunion. But for once, I really wish I could have been there.