With so many out-of-towners home for their annual visits, the holidays have become the perfect time for reunions. On December 7, former classmates from the Class of 2003 gathered for their ten year reunion at Crave, a restaurant located in Merrick Park, to reminisce about old times.

Gables’ senior class president, Lisa Cabrera, and vice president, Michael Redondo, from 2003 spent months planning this event for their fellow classmates and invited about 250 guests. When asked what it felt like to be planning another Gables event and seeing old friends after such a long time, Cabrera said, “It just makes me feel 17 all over again.”

Guests were welcomed by members from the Gables band Minor 6 playing old Gables tunes, old yearbooks laid out on tables, and other Cavalier props. Almost immediately, old friends began to find one another to catch up after all the lost time.

“It’s great to see old friends again. It’s surprising how everyone still looks the same, although it’s been ten years,” former Badminton captain Julia Valois said.

While in high school, students tend to idolize adulthood and often can’t wait for the moment they walk across stage and receive their diplomas. Sharing what it’s like once high school comes to a close, former student activities member and soccer player Gustavo Fonseca said, “It’s not what you expect at all. You become an adult as soon as you take off your cap and gown, so make sure to make every moment count and put education first. Education is the key to success.”

It is repeatedly said that those years in high school are the best of one’s life, and several believe that it is because no one really gets over their time in high school. After all, that is where students begin to evolve and grow into the adults they are going to become, where they go through the hardships that help them discover the values most important to them, and where they go through the kind of peer pressure that will help them discover themselves and the qualities they possess.

When vice president Michael Redondo was asked if he would like to give any advice to current high school students, advice he wished someone would have told him, he said, “It’s very hard at your age, but be mindful and thoughtful with your decisions. Enjoy life, but work hard and set yourself up with success at an early age because time goes by a lot faster than you think.”

After seeing the fun these past Gables grads have had, hopefully our current classes can experience a similar happy reunion.