I have found exactly one former schoolmate on FB.

Luddites.

The girl I've been mad at all these years, over whom I developed such a complex about having female friends? Doesn't remember the incident the way I did (and brooded over).

Things Facebook has shown me:

1. I am the only person left in my immediate group with no kids.

2. I am the only person left in my immediate male group with a full head of hair left.

Coincidence?

I am surprised at the number of people from high school who have become super religious.

I am not surprised at the people who have come out of the closet, just pleased with my gaydar skillz.

Not really. I am constantly surprised at how many women changed their name upon marriage, but that's not peculiar to facebook. Most of the people from my high school who friended me are in about the place in life that I would have guessed.

Yeah, I really can't pretend to be surprised at which of my friends are married-and-divorced, or have two kids already or are starting their own business or are still in school or whatever. I guess the biggest shock is my one friend who had sort of a breakdown and disappeared for awhile, who resurfaced on Facebook last year and is going to a private grad school in the Northeast to study genetic counselling. It was a pleasant suprise to talk to her again.

I don't facebook, but one of my high school classmates is now Chief of Police in my home town. I could not have imagined, in high school, that anyone I knew would be a police chief.

Sometimes I think my hometown simply dropped off the map. No great loss.

No one from my past has tracked me down and I haven't looked for them. Maybe because I used my married name. ;-)

I've found a lot of former classmates there. Most have had fates that aren't really that surprising--the conventional ones are still conventional, the wacky ones are still wacky. I was happy to see that my high-school girlfriend, with whom I ended things rather bitterly and finally our freshman year in college, did a bunch of neat stuff between then and now and has turned out to be a pretty neat woman. We've had some nice chats, but, really, I would have expected nothing less from her. I doubt most folks are surprised that I turned out the way I did.

I found out my first crush, first boyfriend, and first love were all gay.

I was amazed that practically everyone from my grade eight class was married with two children.

Best find so far was the guy I had an enormous crush on when I was 15 and hadn't seen since 1989. We've become close friends and I went to North Carolina last spring to spend a week with him.

Oh, I did find out that my first long-term boyfriend (final year and a half of high school, first two years of college, the one who tried to kill himself when I dumped him) is dating men exclusively now.

I don't think I've been super surprised by anyone. For the most part people have gotten married, had kids and do their jobs. Pretty typical stuff.

I have some kind of minor thing starting to happen with an old crush. I'm not sure what it is yet but it's really nice because it's fun and I only have good pain-free memories of the guy. (I cannot say this about most of the people from back then that have found me. And it's not a complaint about having bad memories/experiences with these people - it's just a fact of life that teenagers can be pretty awful to each other and I'm glad that as people we can get over that kind of thing but it's also really super nice to have someone around that's always been nice. Yes, I'm a huge spaz nerd, thanks!)

I think probably people have been surprised by me, though. I hated hated hated high school and was miserable throughout. I missed 140 days of high school and graduated a semester early. By the time high school rolled around I think I'd already done so much adult crap that having to go through teenage motions just pissed me off. So, I think it really surprises people that I'm not all mopey and doomy.

Not a single surprise on Facebook. The talkative ones are still talkative. The ones who liked weird music and poetry still like weird music and poetry. My only surprise is that all these people actually joined Facebook, since it's such a "mainstream" thing to do.

amro: I'm surprised that a few of the ones who definitely blared the old gaydar have themselves become preachers with very abundant families. Me thinks the ladies do protest too much...

They all got pretty puffy.

Not really any surprises on Facebook, here. I did reconnect with a friend who I hadn't spoken to in 12 years. We were very, very close and as he puts it, "our relationship went on sabbatical after an awkward period." Which is entirely true. I blame teen angst and depression on both our parts. Now, we are both adults and enjoying a fulfilling long distance friendship. It's been healing and wonderful for both of us.

I've also been able to avoid all the people I'm hoping never contact me. Though, it may just be a matter of time. We'll see.

I was contacted by a woman who gave me hell during grade school. In high school we never had the same classes, and didn't see each other again after graduation. She has been very sweet to talk to. As for surprises...one girl is on her third marriage, and that surprises me as she was always stable and surefooted in life; heck, she's happy, and that's all that counts. And I am surprised at how many classmates only had one kid - and they are all around 15/16 years old, and male!

The big surprise for me is that I barely remember anything about those people. I've had quite a few exchanges with classmates who obviously remember me but I can barely place them. My high school years are just a vague blur. It was thirty years ago but my years at college were right after that and I can remember those years clearly.

octothorpe, I remember grade school much better than junior or high school.

In German class we all got penpals from Germany. I kept in touch with mine for a while but then lost track of her. Then she friended me! I really hope I will be able to visit her some day.