High School. You could not pay me enough to go back and relive a life filled with that much drama, worry, and social anxiety. Every day of high school felt like an episode of the Hills except with more acne.
As if puberty wasn’t already bad enough, you have to survive high school! Once you step through those front doors, it’s like entering a new world, a jungle where the boys are jerks, the girls are ruthless, and all of that teenage angst lingers in the hallways like a bad odor.
Not at all like in the melodramatic teen movies where the underdog prevails and is accompanied by song and dance, high school is the strange and not-so-distant land of gym requirements, hall passes, obnoxious bells, and those teachers that act like teenagers in order to be more relatable. It is a place where reputations are built up then destroyed in a matter of minutes when people find out who you kissed near the lockers or that your parent is chaperoning a school dance.
Saying adolescence is dog-eat-dog would only be scratching the surface. Everyone is climbing the social ladder on the endless and self-indulgent quest for cool. And the truth is, we are all just as confused as the next guy, trying to figure out what the hell is going on. During this time, true and genuine friends are few and far between, but those are the people that keep you grounded and help you block out all the noise.
High school isn’t fun for anyone and whoever tells you differently is either lying or lying. Despite the popular belief, these are not the best years of your life. Yes, this is a time when you are young, the possibilities are endless, and there is a lot of fun to be had, but the worries of school and life can blur that reality.
So I am going to let you all in on a little secret.
NONE OF IT MATTERS! None of it! The boys, the girls, the gossip and fights, the social status, the yearbook photos, it is all just noise. In four years (which seems like a lifetime, I know!), high school will be over! After the tassel has been turned and the last graduation cap has landed, everything will change. The mean girls lurking around every corner will no longer be there. The boys, with their nasty comments, will finally be silenced. Dress code will cease being an issue. The acne and raging hormones will fade and subside.
The important thing to remember during this time is that you’re young; your possibilities are as endless as you allow them to be, and the world is your oyster. Use your voice. Stand up for what’s right. Always say what you mean and mean what you say. And don’t forget that just because it’s bad right now, it won’t be bad forever. Nothing is ever the end of the world.
In the far-off future, there will be times when you look back on these memories. Either fondly or in total disgust, when you see something eerily familiar, you will think to yourself, “Wow. That is so high school.”
