Welcome to Your Life: Reflections from the Class of 1985

Welcome to Your Life: Reflections from the Class of 1985

This year marks 40 years since I graduated high school. Class of 1985. Forty. Years.

That number feels surreal, because I can still remember so much from back then—how the lockers slammed, walking through the halls, lunch in the cafeteria, football and basketball games, cheerleading, band, choir, hanging out with friends, cruising around in our cars, and how everything felt big. Permanent. Urgent.

And yet, somehow… we’ve lived a whole lifetime since then.

Shortly after graduation—maybe a week later—I was driving alone. It was summer. I had the windows down, and it was sunny and beautiful day. And a song came on the radio that made me grip the steering wheel a little tighter.

“Welcome to your life…

There’s no turning back…”

Tears for Fears.

“Everybody Wants to Rule the World.”

In that moment, it hit me: this is it. This is real life starting. No more teachers, no more bells, no more asking permission. I would be leaving home for college in less than two months. The grown-up world was here, whether I was ready or not.

That moment stuck. I still remember exactly where I was. That lyric felt profound at 17, and somehow, it still does at 57. I vividly remember that moment- and I also thought- wow- I wonder if these thoughts will stick with me years from now- and they have. 

The 80s had a way of doing that—of sneaking truth into pop music.

We had soundtracks for every emotion, and they weren’t curated by an algorithm. They came from movies, FM radio stations, mixtapes made by hand, and songs we waited hours to hear again on the radio. 

We grew up in the era of actual waiting. Of effort. Unless you had a record or tape, you couldn’t just listen to a song. You had to wait. We learned patience by living that way. 

I grew up in the Midwest, and most of my teen years were spent in one high school—from seventh through eleventh grade—before moving at the end of my junior year. I finished senior year somewhere else, and while I know that sounds like it could’ve been really challenging, I loved my senior year. Not only did I have friends from my previous high school, but I made amazing new friends after moving. I always saw the benefits of moving- meeting new people, finding new experiences- expanding my horizon. I embraced it. 

There’s a reason the 80s decade lives on in memes and Halloween costumes and tribute playlists. The 80s were more than a decade—they were a full-blown mood.

We had shoulder pads, Izod (alligator) shirts and sweaters and layers upon layers, lip gloss that tasted like bubblegum, and spiral hair perms. We wore jeans by Calvin Klein, Gloria Vanderbilt, and Jordache. We loved Esprit clothing and bags, Benetton, Swatch watches, and jelly shoes. 

And the music? It shaped us.

Prince. The Cure. Bon Jovi. Madonna. Phil Collins. REM. Journey. AC/DC. The Outfield. The Beastie Boys. Duran Duran. The Go Gos. I could literally go on and on. 

Every beat, every bassline, every lyric was a part of our identity.

And the movies? John Hughes didn’t just create characters—he documented us. We were weird like Gary and Wyatt- just wanting to fit in or be popular, dorkie but endearing like farmer Ted, and hopeful like Samantha Baker. I am one of those girls who waited for my Jake Ryan to come get me- and truthfully- I am still waiting for Jake. We didn’t need polished heroes—we needed characters who got it wrong, wore the wrong thing, said the wrong thing, but ended up winning in the end. I love a happy ending. Maybe that’s why I like Hallmark movies now? Everything is predictable and it ends up happy.  

We didn’t grow up on screens. No cell phones. Our mistakes weren’t recorded. Our heartbreaks weren’t shared in real-time. I am so grateful that some of my more crazy moments were not captured on video- coming back to haunt me all these years later! We did take lots of pictures- and those are our connection. And maybe that’s why the memories feel deeper. They weren’t captured by cell phone video. They were lived—all the way through.

We grew up with a kind of freedom that’s hard to explain to anyone who didn’t live it. We made our own fun. We figured things out on our own. And we knew how to be bored—really bored—which taught us how to daydream, how to imagine, how to hope. All the kids in the neighborhood played together- all ages- the very littles to high school kids. We played ghost in the graveyard. We played kickball and games we created- all the while including all ages and helping each other. 

The music. The friendships. The cringey outfits. The first loves. The disappointments that felt like the end of the world—but you find out that they actually weren’t.

They were all part of it.

Part of becoming.

While the world looks wildly different now, that moment—driving down a summer road with “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” on the radio—still lives in me. It reminds me that life was always waiting. The doors were always opening. Even when we didn’t know what was on the other side. Days I’m having a rough go of it- I need to remember how I felt- that summer of 1985- and how I had my whole life ahead of me- and the world was mine, and know that there is still time for me to make a difference in the world- whether I’m 17 or 57. 

So, here’s to 1985. To the music. The awkwardness. The friendships and the fun. To every one of us who set out to “rule the world,” or just get through it the best we could.

We may be forty years out—but we were there. And that means something.

I attended the 20th class reunion of the school I spent up through 11th grade. I had so much fun. I went with my best friend- and we didn’t bring our husbands or kids- just us. Her parents were still living there, so we stayed with them- sleeping in what was her older brother's bedroom- talking and laughing all night- almost as if we were still in high school, and we had the absolute best time at the reunion. I will not be attending either of my reunions this summer. But I feel like the one I attended 20 years ago- can’t be beat anyway! 

If you are class of 85, and you’re attending a reunion this summer- I hope you have so much fun and that you relive the memories of a special time- one that we will never experience again. We are all so lucky to have lived at such an incredible time in history.