Cynical Maggie Downs

Now, I consider myself to be a world class cynic, but Maggie Downs gives me a run for my money.

Ten years later, I thought things would be different. I was in a room with mature adults, many with children, who had careers and lives far beyond our small Ohio high school. We had all changed for the better. We were all ready to be open, accepting and welcoming of each other and our various places in life, right?

Whatever.

At my reunion, I learned that mean girls will always be mean girls. Pasty, aging jocks will always think they're more attractive than they really are. And high school cliques - more so than the pyramids and the Rosetta Stone - will always stand the test of time.

I don't think It was this bad for me at my tenth year reunion, but then again I always thought of myself as geek. While at my reunion a girl I was friends with back in school said I was "preppy." My perception of myself was shattered and I spent the rest of my time at the reunion wondering if this was true. I gave up when I remembered where I went to college. Perceptions are often reality.