High school.
Grad night has thrown my sleeping schedule out of whack again. And so, I wrote this about a year and a half ago, and I've been meaning to post it up but haven't, and I'm up now and idle, so here it is: High school.
High school is not always as realistic as its notorious reputation. There is something beyond academics, beyond petty gossip and the surreal drama of television. There is forging new friendships and ending old ones. There are keeping old ones, as well, and discovering who your true friends are. It is not always peer pressure and academic drive. It is human interaction and development of social skills. It is finding out how well you react, how well you adjust, and how well you can balance your schedule and prioritize. It is finding out not what you want to be, but who you want to be. It is learning how to deal. It is clarifying the difference between a friend and an acquaintance. It is struggle to achieve. Drive to succeed. It is desire to be better, or to give up. It is seeing what is attainable, and what is not. It is love, it is life. It is finding yourself.
High school is a big giant test. You are put in situations that you might never again have to deal with in your life. You are taught various subjects that you may or may not have any interest in. And, let's face it, does a week ever pass without at least one quiz? It's a test of how well you can suck up, or how well you can do without sucking up, or whether or no you can suck up at all. It's a test of your people skills, you social skills, your academic skills, your athletic skills. How well can you read and write? Play softball? Do math? Does "E" really equal mc²? Do I give a damn that hay un pollo en mis pantalones, and, most importantly, who the hell killed Kennedy?!
Can I manage my time wisely? Oh, yeah? Well, how about if I add this, this, and--ooh, this to my schedule? Do you interact with others, or do you ignore everyone and spare yourself the drama? When you make a mistake, do you apologize, or do you walk away? Do you vent your anger, or bottle it up? Do you ever even get angry? Do you do well in school, and does that make you better? Or are you out on the streets, dealing drugs to stoners who don't know any better?
That was as far as I got. I don't remember if I was planning to write more or if that was the end.
But, through it all, high school is...high school. I can't count the number of times I've heard people saying "I can't believe we're done" within the past several days, but--we honestly are through. There will never be another opportunity like the one that came with high school. No more bells signaling the end of the day. No more announcements over the loudspeaker. No more clashes with half the administration. No more endless routine, day after day after day.
I've learned some really tough lessons this year about trust and faith and love. I've had more friendships tried in this single year alone than I have in the entire duration of my life. Some of them made it, and some didn't.
High school is not always as realistic as its notorious reputation. There is something beyond academics, beyond petty gossip and the surreal drama of television. There is forging new friendships and ending old ones. There are keeping old ones, as well, and discovering who your true friends are. It is not always peer pressure and academic drive. It is human interaction and development of social skills. It is finding out how well you react, how well you adjust, and how well you can balance your schedule and prioritize. It is finding out not what you want to be, but who you want to be. It is learning how to deal. It is clarifying the difference between a friend and an acquaintance. It is struggle to achieve. Drive to succeed. It is desire to be better, or to give up. It is seeing what is attainable, and what is not. It is love, it is life. It is finding yourself.
High school is a big giant test. You are put in situations that you might never again have to deal with in your life. You are taught various subjects that you may or may not have any interest in. And, let's face it, does a week ever pass without at least one quiz? It's a test of how well you can suck up, or how well you can do without sucking up, or whether or no you can suck up at all. It's a test of your people skills, you social skills, your academic skills, your athletic skills. How well can you read and write? Play softball? Do math? Does "E" really equal mc²? Do I give a damn that hay un pollo en mis pantalones, and, most importantly, who the hell killed Kennedy?!
Can I manage my time wisely? Oh, yeah? Well, how about if I add this, this, and--ooh, this to my schedule? Do you interact with others, or do you ignore everyone and spare yourself the drama? When you make a mistake, do you apologize, or do you walk away? Do you vent your anger, or bottle it up? Do you ever even get angry? Do you do well in school, and does that make you better? Or are you out on the streets, dealing drugs to stoners who don't know any better?
That was as far as I got. I don't remember if I was planning to write more or if that was the end.
But, through it all, high school is...high school. I can't count the number of times I've heard people saying "I can't believe we're done" within the past several days, but--we honestly are through. There will never be another opportunity like the one that came with high school. No more bells signaling the end of the day. No more announcements over the loudspeaker. No more clashes with half the administration. No more endless routine, day after day after day.
I've learned some really tough lessons this year about trust and faith and love. I've had more friendships tried in this single year alone than I have in the entire duration of my life. Some of them made it, and some didn't.
coming from a caroliine @ 23:29
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