Hi everyone,

First, I want to say thank you to those who came and showed love at the reunion—it was such a joy seeing folks, sharing laughs, and making memories. I think Ninah put it well when she posted about the intimate dinner that allowed everyone to talk and celebrate each other over good food and music. I think it was great that the reunion evolved and if you haven’t been twirled by David Wong, you’re missing out!

That said, I want to be real for a second.

As you might imagine, events like this don’t run on vibes alone. When folks RSVP and don’t pay, change plans last minute, or provide a tentative RSVP, it leaves someone holding the bag. In this case, that someone was me.

I covered more than half the total cost of the reunion out of pocket (thousands of dollars), not because I had to, but because I didn’t want the event (and all of our memories) to fall apart due to shortfalls. I also kept thinking what would happen if people did show up and did not have something to eat or drink. I was especially disappointed when I learned that most of these people told someone else that they had no intention of coming but kept telling me that they still were not sure.

If you meant to contribute and it slipped, here’s your gentle nudge. If you changed your mind about coming and didn’t say anything, it’s okay—but just know: someone still paid for your plate, your space, and your seat at the table.

I’m proud of what we pulled off. I just want to remind everyone that behind every fun event is someone sweating the details and sometimes the check. I also don’t want this to be a downer on the event, and I love that people want to make it about memories and fun.

Thank you to everyone who RSVPed and showed; and those that RSVPed and paid just in case but did not show; and to Emily for running out to the store to get everything for the bartenders and setting up the picnic on Sunday; to Teri for being a sounding board and getting the balloon arrangements; to Josie for getting in touch with our favorite teachers so they could attend as well; to Jennifer for the consistent nudges, reminders, and referrals; to everyone who got on a flight or made housing arrangements or took the day off or drove some distance to be there, and to the vendors: Ciel Creative Space, Cupcakin Bake Shop, Bolita Masa, The Grazing Company, Salud and Sole, and DJ Marc Garcia for the amazing experience.

If you would like to share pictures to put on social media, email them to info@jlhs95.com. Also, a great suggestion for future reunions came from Jose Villa: let’s get this mailing list started early so that we can plan really far in advance. You can email using the information above or the contact form below.

Much love,

Vielka

P.S. If you want to retroactively contribute to make things whole (and I’ll love you even more for it), please use the QR code below.