If my calculations are correct, this year marks the 20^th anniversary of my middle school graduation. Or perhaps it’s the 21^th anniversary? I know I graduated from high school in 1997, and Norwegian high school back then was 3 years. That means my middle school career ended in 1994, which, in turn, means that my first calculations were, in fact, gravely incorrect. This year marks the 21^th anniversary of my middle school graduation. Math never was my strong side, except for that one time. That one time, which I will remember until the day I die.

Anyway. Some of my old middle school classmates from back in the days have decided to throw a reunion party this summer. Why they chose the 21^th anniversary, I don’t know. Perhaps their math is just as bad as mine. The important thing is that someone actually took the time to hunt down everybody and send out invitations. Since almost everyone and their grandmother are on Facebook, it wasn’t perhaps the greatest challenge they’ve faced in life.

21 years is a long time. A very long time. I wrote down the names of all the people I my middle school class I could remember, and I only came up with 18 names. I’m sure we were more than 18 pupils in my class, though, and I’m wondering who I’ve forgotten. Even more interesting, however, is what all these people are doing now. Did anyone go on to become famous? Join a cult of some kind? Or make a sex tape?

It’s time for some internet research!

Everything sure would have been a lot easier if I had an Facebook account, but I jumped off that bandwagon in 2011. Most of my old classmates don’t have any real internet presence, except for Facebook, and while some of their profiles are publicly available, the majority of them seem to be hidden unless you have a Facebook account. Or, they just don’t have a Facebook profile. Searching the internet for their names won’t necessarily return anything relevant either, since some of them might have gotten married and taken their better half’s last name, or, in extreme cases, gone and changed their name completely.

But based on what I found in the white pages, yellow pages, newspaper archives, a few public Facebook profiles, and a couple of YouTube accounts, most of my former middle school classmates settled in our home town, or at least somewhere close to it. They work in a wide range of professions; teaching, social work, law enforcement, fitness and health, transportation, hair and beauty, and one of the girls recently became the director of investment firm registered in Great Britain. Saucy! When they are not working, their interests range from the local sports club, Chernobyl and Pripyat, and American muscle cars. Interesting.

I’m excited to meet the gang again, but also a wee bit anxious. Some of them could behave like major assholes at time, but that might just be kids for you. Their dickery was usually projected at other people than me, though. Either way, for their own sake I hop they have grown up. Time will tell if that is the case or not.