David Kelly: I was a short-timer in Tokyo - just two years - so I didn't have the same upheaval in my life after graduation as those of you who grew up there. No doubt that the time at ASIJ played a significant role in making me the person I turned into, but for me, living in Japan was really more like hanging out in Wonderland than anything to do with real life. It was a wonderful experience, but it didn't seem real in many ways because it was so different from everything that had come before or after.
 
I think many of us from that time and place wandered off the paths we were supposed to follow after high school - college, maybe grad / law / med school, career and family. I think a part of the reason for that is what Tim Carr spoke about in his Third Culture Kids talk, which seemed germane even to those of us who hadn't been there our whole lives. Speaking for myself, coming back to small-town America after Japan was a real shock to the system for someone who'd been spoiled by having one of the most amazing cities in the world for a playground.
 
Maybe it was hard to look back on such a high point in my life from the more mundane places I ended up, but for whatever reason and without ever meaning to, I seem to have turned my back on ASIJ and Japan as I grew older. And that was a shame, because it was such a defining experience. I allowed myself to lose touch with everyone I knew from that time. And so we come around to the subject of the 30th Reunion in Nashville.
 
A reunion, especially a high numbered one, is a strange concept to wrap your head around. First of all, I'm too young to be 30 years out of high school. And I'm definitely too young to find the kids I used to hang out with approaching grandparent territory! And then there's that pesky question of whether ASIJ ever really truly happened, or was it just a trip to the amusement park for so many years? And that scarier question of whether those kids I used to know will be scrutinizing and judging and comparing their metrics to mine, and will I be found wanting? But somehow I made up my mind to attend, and I'm very happy that I did.
 
The Nashville Reunion weekend was a whirl of one amazing event after another, a complete sensory overload of environment and experience, all overlaid with the emotional highs of meeting and reconnecting with people with who had disappeared off my radar screen 30 years ago. Saturday night was beyond description. And then Sunday morning, with the Service of Remembrance, was the most fitting possible way to end the event - the reminder of what was genuinely important was exactly what we needed to carry away from the weekend as we made our ways back to our normal lives.
 
Renewing old friendships that had long-since lapsed was a huge part of the event for me. But an equally huge part was becoming friends with people I hadn't gotten to know well enough (or at all) back in the day. And it was sobering to discover that people I thought I'd known back then were not as uncomplicated as the little boxes I'd categorized them in would indicate. People are more complex than we sometimes realize, and it's careless and patronizing to forget that. Your high school can help you grow years after the fact, if you let it.
 
There was a tremendous outpouring of warmth and generosity of spirit from all who attended. It would have been a great experience if it had happened in a gym decorated with streamers and a DJ. Having it take place at Brent's house, farm, and studios with a band full of rock royalty made it just that much more magical.
 
The reunion helped me realize that I really have to go back to Japan and revisit the people and places that brought me here. Maybe this coming summer...? My time at ASIJ meant too much to me to allow myself to neglect the memories for so long. Which is why the reunion was an event not to be missed - it served as a reminder of why the time in Tokyo mattered so much. It was a chance to make new memories with the people who share many of my most interesting old ones. Can't wait for the next event!