In honor of attending my 20th high school reunion, here’s 20 thoughts on high school.
20. Yes, I put the APATHY acrostic in the yearbook on purpose.
19. Yes, I was ready to be slapped by the former yearbook editor.
18. Yes, it would have been worth it.
17. There is a large part of me that hated high school. It started with moving from Oklahoma on my birthday before the 9th grade year, so there was a HUGE amount of transition that the natives didn’t have to deal with. I already felt weird about myself, since I was the stereotypical nerd, and being overweight and out of place didn’t help matters.
16. The fact that I went to college and got Ds in classes made me feel that I never really learned how to study. Was it that high school was easy, or that I never chose to challenge myself?
15. I didn’t challenge myself. Science fair projects seemed like such a complete waste of time.
14. At the reunion, everyone looked pretty good. It takes a certain amount of guts to even attend a reunion, especially if you never felt like you were part of a group in school.
13. I was an oddball in high school. There’s an issue with being smart and wearing glasses right around the time of Van Halen’s “Hot for Teacher”. No matter how much you try and not feel like a nerd or a geek, it’s painfully obvious that you are one. As such, you start feeling that “no one to sit with at lunch” phenomenon.
12. It’s amazing how much change has happened in some people. Some of my friends have made HUGE changes in their lives. Some others…not so much.
11. I wonder beneath the surface how many people are happy with their lives as they stand now. Are they doing what they wanted to do? Has their lives changed?
10. I’m pretty sure I’m doing what I wanted. I’m also sure that I chose what I wanted to do for the wrong reasons, and as a result, I’m in a bind.
9. High school was such a different animal 20 years ago. There wasn’t as much emphasis on passing tests; the TAKS came online during our time, and now that’s become almost the entire focus of teaching.
8. There apparently are plans to get rid of most of the old high school and completely change it from a set of buildings with walkways inbetween to a monolithic building. One of the little bits of charm of Boswell was the outdoor lockers, and that will be gone.
7. I didn’t get a chance to talk to some people at the reunion. I wish I had in some cases. In at least one case, I made a choice not to talk to someone. There wasn’t any reason other than having dealt with the type of person before and not wanting to (a) get tied down and (b) not engage in pointless small talk. I don’t want to be a jerk, but I also don’t want to open any old, firmly closed doors.
6. Romy and Michelle was a pretty good, extremely unrealistic movie.
5. Why would we have a reunion where people would want to talk in a confined, cramped place with a DJ blaring the best of the late 80s?
4. Was there any good music from the late 80s? In retrospect, not really. I think I’ve lost more brain cells in remembering lyrics to “Come On Eileen”.
3. I don’t look back on high school with much fondness. However, I think it’s just the system that grinds everyone down and puts them into defined boxes more than people.
2. As far as the people go, I have nothing but respect for them.
1. I’ll be ready for the next one. 🙂