Your story reminds me of how different we all are. I left my home town when I left school and essentially cut off everyone from that school and that town. I was friends with everyone in school, very friendly with the teachers, but that town was just not going to be where I excelled in any form. I am not even sure what I would do if an old school friend reached out to me!

A lot of people from tiny country/rural towns I think end up in this situation, because we often end up fighting the "Crabs in a Bucket" phenomenon when trying to be better humans, and leaving can be easier. Whilst I do think about people from my childhood and that town, it feels like an entirely different life to me.