"You know I have a school reunion next month. This is the first one and I am so excited. I checked out the attendees on fb event list and wow!! There are people doing so many different things. A shy boy I knew back in school runs a successful restaurant, one a psychiatrist, another one running a cookie store..."
My friend was telling me all this over phone and that's when it struck me. Out of all the layers of friends we surround ourselves with, school friends are the only set who are as diverse as it could get. Think about it! After school, you go to a university and everyone you know will end up being a bachelor-of-'one thing'. Then masters and it gets (I would say) intense. Then at work, as room mates, you tend to meet people who are doing more or less the same thing that you do, professionally and otherwise.
And then there are school friends or friends from childhood! Friends whom you thought you couldn't live without back then; but have successfully proved the childhood innocence silly and moved on to being quite alien to their adult-self. Or some whom you knew pretty well in school and are now your virtual world 'friends'. You know major events in their lives trough fb posts and you respond to it too; however, all in a perfect machine-like-efficiency. I think that's what social media has done to us- "so close, yet so far..." Am I digressing?
School friends not only bring diversity in opinions around you, they also teach an important lesson of how excellence in school does not necessarily mean success in life. I know some of my schoolmates who used to barely manage to get promoted to next class are doing exceptionally well for themselves now. And I am sure they have a totally different opinion of school and studies. Its a human tendency to surround themselves with like minded people and may be that's how we keep friendships going. However, it would be interesting and and definitely enriching to have people of varied opinions, streams in our social circle and good news is that you don't have to go too far for that. Just reach out to your friends from childhood and enjoy the potpourri that is life!
