Have you ever laughed so hard during a reunion that your cheeks hurt more than your feet after walking around a canyon? Kasi ako, yes. Very yes. After three beautiful days with my SWU College of Medical Technology Batch of 1994 family in Utah, I am now coming home to Arizona with a full heart, tired legs, and enough memories to make my phone storage wave a white flag.
Grabe, what a weekend. From Salt Lake City to the majestic views of Mt. Zion and Bryce Canyon, our batch reunion was the kind of gathering that reminded me why some friendships do not expire. They may go quiet for years, buried under work schedules, family responsibilities, lab shifts, bills, and adulting drama, but once you see each other again? Ay, balik freshman year agad. Same jokes. Same energy. Same tawanan. Just with better shoes, reading glasses, and maybe a little more Salonpas in the luggage.
Some reunions are just events. This one felt like coming home to people who knew you before life became complicated.
From Lab Coats to Canyon Views
There is something special about seeing former classmates outside the usual image you carry in your memory. In my mind, some of us are still wearing white uniforms, carrying lab manuals, rushing to class, and pretending we understood everything in hematology on the first try. Alam mo yun? That confident nod while internally screaming, Lord, ano po itong differential count?
But there we were, years later, gathered in Utah—not as stressed college students, but as full-grown adults with careers, families, stories, and knee joints that now make their own sound effects. We came from different places, different lives, and different time zones, but for three days, we shared one beautiful purpose: to reconnect.
The reunion started with good laughter—the kind that does not need warm-up. You sit down, someone says one line from the past, and suddenly everyone is laughing like no time has passed. It is amazing how memory works. I may forget where I placed my car keys yesterday, but I can remember a classmate’s college nickname from 30 years ago. The brain is funny like that. Selective memory, lodi level.
The Host Who Made It Happen
A very heartfelt thank you to our dear batchmate Jenna, our gracious host, who put so much effort into making this reunion not just organized, but memorable. Hosting a reunion is not easy. It is not just choosing a place and saying, Guys, punta kayo. Naku, no. There are messages to answer, plans to coordinate, schedules to align, food to consider, people to guide, and unexpected things that always pop up like surprise lab results at 4:55 PM.
But Jenna handled it with warmth and grace. You could feel the care in the details. The locations, the flow, the moments we were able to share—it all came together beautifully. To our host, thank you. Your effort gave us something priceless: time together.
Behind every successful reunion is someone who cared enough to turn group chat plans into real memories.
And let us be honest. Many reunions are planned in group chats and die there peacefully. The usual cycle: someone says, Let us meet soon! Everybody reacts with hearts and thumbs up. Then silence. Then three years pass. So for this one to actually happen? Petmalu. Truly.
Mt. Zion: Where the Views Made Us Quiet
Mt. Zion was one of those places that makes you pause, not because someone asked for silence, but because nature basically tells you, Be still, anak. The views were wide, dramatic, and humbling. The kind of scenery that makes your worries feel smaller, even just for a moment.
The air had that crisp outdoor smell—dust, pine, sun-warmed rocks, and adventure. The cliffs stood tall like they had been waiting centuries for us to finally show up with our cameras and reunion shirts. Every corner looked like a postcard. Every stop became a photo opportunity. And as expected, taking group photos was both joyful and mildly chaotic.
You know the drill. One phone. Then another phone. Then someone says, Wait, one more with my phone! Then someone is blinking. Someone is hidden. Someone is not ready. Someone says, Ay, pangit ako diyan! Then we repeat. Formal pose, funny pose, serious pose, candid kuno but very planned pose. Classic Pinoy reunion photography—complete with laughter and mild traffic obstruction. Charot.
Bryce Canyon and the Art of Saying Wow
Then came Bryce Canyon, and wow. If Mt. Zion was majestic, Bryce Canyon felt almost unreal. The hoodoos—the tall, thin rock formations—looked like nature had spent years sculpting them with patience that I definitely do not have when waiting for slow Wi-Fi.
The colors were stunning: orange, red, cream, and gold, changing with the light like the canyon was showing off. And honestly? It had every right to. Standing there with batchmates, looking out at that massive natural amphitheater, I felt grateful in a quiet way. Here we were, once young med tech students from SWU, now scattered across different places, reunited under the big Utah sky.
It was beautiful. Not just because of the view, but because of who we were viewing it with.
The Conversations That Stayed With Me
Reunions are not only about sightseeing. The real treasures are usually found in the in-between moments: inside the car, during meals, while waiting for everyone to gather, or during those small conversations that start with, So how have you been?
We talked about work, families, health, retirement dreams, travel plans, and the funny little surprises of life abroad. Some stories were hilarious. Some were touching. Some made us nod quietly because we understood without needing too many words.
As medical technologists, many of us have lived lives shaped by duty. We know what it means to work behind the scenes. We understand long shifts, accuracy, pressure, and the quiet pride of helping patients even when they never see our faces. But during this reunion, we were not just professionals. We were classmates again. Friends. Batchmates. People who once shared classrooms, exams, dreams, and maybe snacks during break time.
That is what made it meaningful. We were not networking. We were reconnecting.
A Formal Thank You, With a Very Filipino Heart
To everyone who joined the reunion, thank you for showing up. In this busy season of life, presence is a gift. We all know how hard it can be to take time off, book flights, drive long hours, adjust schedules, and leave behind responsibilities even for just a few days.
But you came. And because you came, the reunion became more than an itinerary. It became a celebration of friendship, history, and shared roots.
To our host Jenna, again, thank you for your time, energy, patience, and love for the batch. You helped create an experience we will carry with us long after the photos stop appearing in our social media memories.
To SWU College of Medical Technology Batch 1994, what a joy it is to belong to a group that can still laugh together after all these years. We may now have different titles, different addresses, different hair colors—some natural, some sponsored by boxed dye, no judgment—but the bond remains.
Little Lessons From a Three-Day Reunion
On my way back to Arizona, I kept thinking about what this reunion reminded me of. Not in a dramatic movie-scene way, although if there was background music, I would not complain. But in a simple, honest way.
- Make time for people who matter. Life gets busy, but friendship needs presence.
- Take the photo. Even if your hair is windblown or your pose is awkward. Someday, that photo will make you smile.
- Travel with gratitude. Beautiful places become even more meaningful with the right company.
- Honor your beginnings. Before the careers, titles, and responsibilities, there were classmates who saw you grow.
- Plan the next one before everyone disappears. Because if not, naku, the group chat may enter hibernation mode again.
Next Stop: San Antonio, Texas
The reunion ended with warm farewell wishes and one exciting promise: the next reunion will be in San Antonio, Texas. Just saying that already makes me smile. New city, new memories, same batch energy.
I can already imagine it—more laughter, more food, more photos, more stories, and probably more moments where someone says, Wait, where is my phone? only to find it in their own hand. We are seasoned professionals, yes, but we are also human. Very human.
San Antonio, we are coming for you next. Prepare the good food, scenic spots, and comfortable shoes. Batch 94 does not simply attend a reunion. We arrive with stories.
Coming Home to Arizona
Now, I am coming home to Arizona. Back to routine. Back to familiar roads, familiar weather, familiar responsibilities. But something feels lighter. That is what a good reunion does. It fills a part of you that you did not realize was running low.
There is a certain tenderness in saying goodbye after a reunion. You hug people a little tighter because you know life will scatter everyone again. Flights will be boarded. Cars will head in different directions. Work schedules will resume. The group chat will be flooded with photos for a few days, then slowly quiet down.
But the memories stay.
We came to Utah as former classmates. We left as reminded friends.
So here is my little challenge to anyone reading this: if you have been postponing a reunion, a visit, a message, or a simple kumusta to someone from your past, do it. Send the message. Make the plan. Book the date if you can. Life is too short to keep saying, next time, especially when next time is not guaranteed.
To my SWU College of Medical Technology Batch of 1994 family: thank you for the laughter, the stories, the warmth, and the reminder that some bonds remain strong no matter how many years pass. See you in San Antonio, Texas. And please, someone remind me to pack extra memory cards, comfortable shoes, and maybe a little more Salonpas. For formal purposes, of course.
Batchmates, what was your favorite Utah reunion moment? Drop it in the comments—or better yet, send the photo evidence. Just be kind. Some of us were caught mid-laugh, and that is a medical condition called reunion happiness.
