The time has come. Wedding invitations. 

Despite having my own opinion on marriage, I am also keen in seeing others happy, and so it's only natural for me to be excited when I received an invitation from a former classmate. I RSVPed almost immediately. The minute I arrived home from a trip, I immediately got to the car and pressed the accelerator for the 50-minute drive to the venue. I thought I was late, but in fact, I came at just the right time.

A huge chunk of us were there, perhaps it was because everyone was excited for the first wedding invitation from our class and that it would be the first time we would be seeing each other after 7 years. 

A lot can happen after 7 years, but surprisingly, the reunion wasn't as daunting as I thought. Conversations that I recall during the event include:

"wah, kau ni hebat gak"

"ye betul tu, aku dengan Einstein satu je beza - aku ni pemalas."

"weh, aku nak bagi tahu kau satu benda ni."

"apa dia?"

"sorry tau, buat kau nangis time sekolah."

"They were very close, what happened?"

And of course, it's only natural for us to think about the times we've had in high school during the reunion.

If anyone ever asks me on what's my favourite moment in high school, what would it be?

Was it when I peaked in my academic and extra curricular activites?

Maybe, but not really.

My favourite moments in that school aren't the end products, but the effort it took for me to get there.

The time when the drama team did a group prayer not to win, but to highlight to the audience the atrocities of genocide, as that was the theme of our drama. The time when a substitute swimmer told me I was fat and not as pretty as the other girls in my batch just hours before my time to swim. The time when my relay partner cried because I was diagnosed with swimmer's ear and that the doctor advised that I should not go for the tournament, but I couldn't do that to us, so we went for the tournament and scored a gold medal. The time when I would stay up at 2am to do my laundry when everyone else is sleeping. The time when my friend and I had to sleep near each other after a trauma. The time when I left my mum and my late grandma in my dorm with a fan that's not working hours before graduation, because someone wanted to give me flowers (sorry both). The time when my name was announced for an award, and my grandpa immediately stood up to give me a standing ovation. The time when I ran for my life from my dorm to the class on my last day of school, to hear the words I'll never get to hear again.

Perhaps time really changes people. You only get these moments once, but the memories will stay forever. "The disappointing thing about life is that it doesn't always end up how we want it to be. We don't always get what we want."

The lesson I learnt here is to live life in the present boldly, otherwise, you’ll deprive yourself of the best moments in life. The past can always haunt us, and the future is uncertain, but the present is the only thing that matters. 

I am glad Allah gave me the best high school storyline anyone could ever ask for. 

One wedding down, many to go.