About a month and a half ago, one of my high school friends mentioned that we had an upcoming high school reunion. Has it really be 10 years? Crazy! Time flies! It feels like it was just yesterday that I was in high school.
The invitation to the reunion was sent via social media. As I started looking at the "plans" for this reunion my heart sank. The reunion is to be held at a bar and the highlight for the evening is beer pong. I knew instantly that I would not be attending my high school reunion.
When I thought about the invitation, I thought I could just ignore it, say I'm not going, or I could be brave and say why I wouldn't be attending. I mulled over these different responses for a week or so and decided that I was going to be brave.
This week I said I would not be attending my high school reunion. I have known the person who was planning the event since 4th grade and I thought they might just understand my position. I sent them a message that more or less said, "Thank you for planning our reunion. I can only imagine how much work you have put into this." I continued on saying, "I will be not be attending the reunion. Because of my religious beliefs I don't drink and I'm not comfortable being around people who are drinking- I hope you can respect my decision. Thanks for the invitation."
The response was better than I could have hoped for. My classmate said they understood my decision and they respected it. They said they hoped things were going well for me and let me know that I would be missed. The also let me know that I could still come if I wanted.
Sharing your standards with a friend, co-worker, or classmate can be a scary thing; however, at times it is something that I think needs to be done. Sharing your standards with others opens doors, creates understanding, and who knows, maybe someday my classmates will decide to meet somewhere other than a bar.
Moral of the story, don't lower your standards for even one night of "fun." There is so much to see and do and enjoy in life that doesn't involve alcohol or drugs.
