Ah, 2005—what a time to be alive! We were the Oxnard High School Yellow Jackets, proudly sporting our cardinal and gold while strutting through the halls to the soundtrack of Lil Jon “Get Low” and 50 Cent “In Da Club.” The Razr flip phone was our prized possession, MySpace was our social media kingdom, and if you didn’t have the perfect Top 8 or a banging ringtone, were you even living?

Our high school years were marked by pop culture moments that glued us together. Spending our Friday nights under the bright stadium lights, cheering on the Yellow Jackets, and rolling deep to In-N-Out afterward with the whole crew are memories we’ll never be able to recreate. Those nights weren’t just about the games—they were about the laughs, the drama, the late-night drives, and the feeling that we had all the time in the world ahead of us.

The Last 20 Years: A Journey Through the Hive

Since we tossed our caps in the air, life has taken us in wildly different directions, yet some things remain the same.

• Careers: We’ve got a class full of go-getters. From entrepreneurs to educators, healthcare professionals to artists, and even a couple of TikTok-famous creators, the Yellow Jackets have made a mark across industries.

• Families: Many of us have started families of our own, passing down our love for ‘90s Nickelodeon and explaining the sheer joy of Saturday morning cartoons to a generation that’s all about YouTube.

• Technology: We lived through the evolution from MySpace to Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok—watching our lives play out in likes, filters, and stories.

Staying Connected: The Power of Social Media

Social media has been a thread tying us all together. We've kept tabs on each other’s milestones—graduations, weddings, first homes, and "I’m going back to school" posts. Whether it's cheering on old friends from afar or reminiscing about the good ol' days through throwback photos, we've remained connected in ways the class of 1985 could only dream about.

But here’s the thing—no number of “likes” can replicate the magic of seeing your classmates face-to-face. There's a certain energy that comes from reliving our shared history, laughing at old inside jokes, and swapping stories about those legendary Friday night football games. A reunion isn’t just a chance to catch up; it’s a chance to remember where we came from and who we were when life felt simpler.

So, as we gather to celebrate our 20-year reunion, let’s toast to the memories we’ve made, the paths we’ve carved, and the friendships that have stood the test of time. We may have swapped our Yellow Jacket jerseys for work attire, but our spirit is as strong as ever. Cheers to the Class of 2005—proof that even after two decades, we’re still buzzing! 🐝