We have our own event, similar to the one you describe, happening this fall in the upper part of the mitten, in Michigan.   The smell of the forests that surround our school, and the memories of so many great experiences, friendships, and special moment of finding ourselves, among good friends and so much intellectual potential, is what conjure up feelings of great joy and some nostalgia too.  The last time we got together was at the 25th Homecoming, and that was such an amazing time, as well.  Do any of us age gracefully?  How many of us have achieved our goals?  How often have we reinvented ourselves, because we came to know that we were not the person we had hoped to become.  For a weekend, in the most colorful season of all, all of the realities of life can be tucked away, in a corner, and left untouched, while we regress to that perfect time, that moment, when all was well, and every conceivable challenge could be met bravely, and with all the strength and wonder of our youth.