September 30th, 2023 was my high school reunion. I did not go. That's right. In my mind the reunion would go one of two ways: Either I'd be reminded how unpopular I was clarifying to people who have no recollection of me that I actually did attend my high school (because I had 4 friends in high school and none of them were going) OR I'd be having awkward conversations pretending to remember people who might by some miracle remember me because I seriously have the worst memory! I chose neither option and opted for performing on the coolest stage I ever sang on in front of strangers I'd never met before. And I wouldn't have traded it for the world!
To be honest with you, ever since graduating I've always wanted to go to my high school reunion. It's one of those significant events in every adult's life. Plus, when I graduated just 3 months after turning 17, I told myself that I would be a famous singer signing autographs for people when I went back to my high school.
In my Drizzy voice "Boy was I wrong" haha. I have a measly, ok not measly, but I have about 11,000 followers across all of my social media platforms. Oh wait, I also have 209 monthly listeners on Spotify and maybe 2 on Apple Music.
Now I know social media fame doesn't validate me but part of me wondered if deep down inside I was happy to miss the reunion because I would avoid the embarrassment of not being who I said I was going to be. I also have extreme social anxiety (ha, the irony of singing solo on a stage!) and high school was not a fun time for me. I really didn't want to be reminded about how unpopular I was and I seriously struggle with remembering some events and people from that time in my life (or any time before the last 5 minutes) and it would have been really awkward.
So, when Bibi from DAM Events invited me to be a part of DAM Grown in Oakland, I immediately said YES knowing full well that my high school reunion was scheduled for that same night. That's right, instead of having awkward conversations with the past I opted for awkward eye contact with strangers. :) And I wouldn't have traded it for the world.
You can check out the video below to see my experience leading up to and during the performance but what I took away from it was that I miss dance so much! I LOVE Hip-Hop dancing (it gives me literal goosebumps when people are hittin' perfectly in sync with music) and there were a lot of dance groups there. I used to take dance classes when I first moved to the East Bay but eventually stopped. I am definitely starting back up when it's in my budget!
Anyhow, thanks so much for reading this. Did you go to your high school reunion or did you skip it? Let me know!
And keep dreaming with your eyes wide open!
xo Shari