Whether you’re turning fifty, flaunting your grandkids and showing off your new teeth, or turning ten, flaunting degrees and showing off new cars, high school reunions can be awkward. This is partly because people change, losing touch with those they once copied from in third period algebra. But mostly, it’s because no matter how old people are, they always seem to care a bit about what their high school classmates think of them. This can make for some awkward moments at Ridegement High, or any high school in the US.

But it’s not impossible to make meetings comfortable. With a little planning and a little restraint, you just might find yourself as great as you always remembered.

Don’t say you invented post-its

Hype and meetings seem to go together, as if they arrived together in a beat-up old Honda but called it a limo. However, exaggeration is risky, especially when the exaggeration is so great that it can be shown to be false. Few things are more uncomfortable than overdoing it and getting caught by those you’re trying to impress. If you feel the need to improve a bit, keep it to a minimum; Don’t say you’re married to someone who looks like Mel Gibson when you’re actually married to someone who looks like Mel Brooks.

Not having predesigned notions

We all wonder what happened to the quarterback of the football team, the head cheerleader, the senior class president, and the class weirdo who wore only black and jumped around with the bagpipes. While we likely have assumptions about what happened to whom, don’t get so caught up in what you think people have become that you’re not willing to see who they really are. People often turn out differently than they think they will be and their version may now be a 180 degree version of what they once were.

Don’t just talk to those you know

Most of us have a small group of friends from high school that we still keep in touch with, even years later. While we’ll see them at the meeting, we’ll also see them at poker on Saturday night. Instead of spending all your time catching up with the ones you’ve already caught, get closer to the ones you haven’t seen in years. Even if you weren’t friends with them in high school, you may have more in common as adults.

don’t bring old meat

Most people had a nemesis in high school, that one person they just never got along with. While it may have been okay to avoid this person in high school, a time when rejection was not only acceptable but highly conducive to social standing, gatherings should be peaceful and full of maturity. A meeting is a time to let water under the bridge, not a time to open a floodgate.

High school reunions are ironic. We come to them as adults, with a bit of that insecure high school kid still in us. We want to impress our former colleagues, knowing full well that their opinions don’t really mean anything. But more than anything, we just want to feel comfortable with who we’ve become and know that we’re not defined by who we were in high school.

Not much preparation is needed for a meeting. Surely there are people who will spend hours at the hairdresser or weeks in the gym trying to lose the 20 kilos they have gained. But, for most of us, getting a good night’s sleep should be enough. The best way to refresh and rejuvenate for your time travel is to sleep on a Natural Latex mattress. With a material that conforms to your body, leaving you free of pressure points and engulfed in comfortable temperatures, a natural latex mattress is your first step to getting through your high school reunion in one comfortable piece.