Do you say hi?

I had this happen the other day. It was a girl I was friends with in high school. I’m pretty sure we haven’t talked since we graduated (two years ago). I walked over and gave her a fist pound and we talked for like 5 minutes.

Ten or more years, I have no clue. You could run into an embarrasing situation where you say hi and the person doesn’t remember you lol4rl. In my situation it had been around two years and I still felt comfortable with some small talk, nothing else.

Yes. You will regret it if you don’t. I was at a pizza parlor and I saw a friend that I just met. I couldn’t recognize if it was heather (her name) or not. I didn’t want to say hi to a stranger :S. Then, the pizza maker worker person said “here you go, heather” and she left with pizzas and I am like “damn”.

I generally say hello. It might make their day to be remembered, even if they don’t remember you!

I would say for me it would depend on each person, but more likely my mood at the time. I would also look for signs from that person that they may be recognizing me. If they don’t appear to, and I’m not in the mood for a reunion (ie person was not that important in my life to begin with) I let it pass.

Sometimes, after 10+ years, people may not recognize you also.

I would, at the very least, wave to them. I has some friends in that neutral category that I think you’re talking about, and I think it’s important to make yourself known. Depending on what they think of you, if you ignore them and they notice it, then it can be mistaken as quite negative, whereas a wave could be reassuring, even if that’s all your hello consists of.

If I see someone I recognize and it’s clear they recognize me too, I just give them the ol’ raise both eyebrows and smile without too much teeth move, then walk on. Just acknowledge them and you’ve got all your social bases covered without the need for an awkward conversation.

I run the other way. I hate the forced conversation. I think I may be socially retarded though.

It would depend on who it is. High school was longer ago then I care to remember, or admit.

I would ignore almost everyone I knew from high school, but that is moot because it was so long ago we probably wouldn’t recognize each other. One of the wonderful things about being here in The Cornfield is that I know very few people so it never happens!

On the contrary of what I just said, If someone is staring at me, I’ll say “sup?” or something.

I look so different than what I looked like in high school (over 20 years ago) that I wouldn’t expect anyone to recognize me.

I say hi to people from school that I recognize, even though it’s 30+ years ago. I’m of the age that’s beyond the cliques and keeping up with the Joneses. It’s nice to be able to reconnect with someone from the past. I don’t expect long conversations or rekindled friendships. But they’re happy to be recognized.

If someone from high school recognized me on the street and said, “Hi,” I’d say, “Hi.” back. And then I’d ask, “Where do I know you from?” To me, it’s no big deal to ask after so many years out of school. But to be honest, I only remember a few people from my own class. I got on better with more people from the class ahead of me.

@augustlan I used to think that too. I had long hair in high school, and I wore really dorky glasses. Now I have cool glasses and a shaved head. I have people recognize me all the time. Must be the way I walk or something.

I say “hi” to everybody, since that is the polite thing to do. If it turns into a conversation, I can always feign ignorance and ask them their name. Most folks just say hi back and keep on going.