Who Were You?

Back in high school, that is. I just watched the documentary "American Teen" and things haven't changed much since I was in high school; sadly. It's still as cliquey as ever, the popular girls are still biotches and the geeky kid still can't get a date. As far as stereotypes go, I related most with the "rebel," Hannah. Though I wouldn't call her or me a rebel, just not cut from the same conforming mold. We didn't fit in anywhere else.

There was a time I wanted desperately to be popular. My best friend from elementary school was one of the most popular girls in school. We'd been friends since Kindergarten, but once we got to junior high, she decided she no longer wanted to be my friend (since I wasn't popular) and sent one of her other friends over to break the news. Yeah, harsh. I cried.

I would say I was socially awkward because I was so worried about being made fun of for what I said or did. I was that shy wallflower girl who was a people pleaser. I would have done favors for any of the "in" crowd just to be "in" for that one brief moment. I had friends, but even then, I was the quiet one in the group and if my friends were absent or busy during lunch, I was the girl that was eating lunch in the bathroom so I wasn't seen alone at any of the tables. I even had girls prank me regularly and to this day, I have no idea who they were. They would call other kids from my class and pretend to be me saying who knows what. Most of the phone call recipients never talked to me about it and only two of the guys that did, wouldn't give me details. So it must have been bad. There's one thing high school kids have now that I didn't, caller id.

Hannah was a step ahead of me though, and I decided I didn't care what others thought only after I left high school, for college, my junior year. There was a program that allowed students to get high school and college credit at the same time and the high school paid the tuition. I thought, "Great! Whatever gets me out of this drama." That's when I was finally able to breathe and just be myself. All of my snarkiness is just built up from those years of repressive school angst.

My ten year high school reunion was last October and I skipped it. Most of the people I've wanted to keep in contact with I have (Facebook is awesome). After watching that documentary, it made me even happier that I didn't go. Who wants to dig up those kinds of memories? Some things are better left in the past and only dug up for blogging value. :op