High School Experience

[PrincessBuffy16]

Am I the only person on the planet who didn't have a horrible high school experience?

I don't hate it too. It's not complete hell. People just know to be.. harsh. You know, you get called out because of something you belive in but others don't. If you don't speak about those things it's all right. For the first 2 years of High School I didn't talk about Buffy, because I saw two girls in our class being 'banished' because they like HP. I love HP. In the third year of HS, my friend found my Buffy shirt in my closet.. I guess, when I came here, I found out it's not that bad to be different.. so I began to speak out about stuff I love. I guess, now, my friends have accepted me to turn my back to me. But I'm sure, if I told them about my geekness in the first year, I wouldn't have them as my friends.

 

[mayfever]

Am I the only person on the planet who didn't have a horrible high school experience?

Not really... what I was trying to say was that my high school was a quite humane place, there was bullying and group formation and people not being invited to parties, but all in all it was an ok experience. I had friends, I liked classes and I wasn't bullied for being smart, in fact I got the feeling that people grudgingly admired me for it.

The reason I wouldn't want to revisit that time was because I didn't like myself that much back then because I was a hormonal angst-bomb, just like everybody else.

I have to say though, I never saw worse bullying than in the English all-girls boarding school I went to for a couple of months in 2001. It was really strict and elitist and the parents paid a FORTUNE to send their kids there (mine didn't, I got the place because someone went home unexpectedly and the year was already paid for and the school had an unofficial exchange agreement with my school), and you'd think that these kids would know better, but you would not believe what a bunch of "popular" girls did to my friend. I'm not telling, but they never got found out and went on to Oxford and Cambridge. I've never bullied anyone ever again in my life after that.

 

[Kean]

The reason I wouldn't want to revisit that time was because I didn't like myself that much back then because I was a hormonal angst-bomb, just like everybody else.

This.

School itself was actually pretty good for me. I had a decent circle of friends, took part in school musicals, was the vice president of the student council and was Headgirl. I mean, I clearly did all right, but I also hated myself for the whole 6 years I was in secondary school.

That was the horrible part.

 

[Abby27]

I only graduated high school a few years ago, but honestly, I had a fantastic time! And I'm not super pretty or rich, I was in the marching band and orchestra, so I wasn't high on the "social latter" I guess you could say. But because of how involved I was with chorus, marching band, orchestra, and thespians, I had an extremely good time in high school. I loved learning, and doing all my extracurriculars so my attitude towards high school was and is extremely positive. I had a great group of friends, I never really had a lot of drama with boys or drugs or anything crazy like that, and I don't ever remember being picked on. I mean, in the music/art/honors cliques I was popular I guess. I felt like I had my own niche and had a good time filling it.

Now in college, I love it even more.

 

[Kean]

mayfever agrees: school musicals? You gotta be kidding, right? I LIVED for them. You're starting to scare me, woman

Oh little do you know my friend! I was the best Jacob, Joseph and His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat has ever seen! 😛

I also played the shit out of wench #3 in Oliver. 😀

Of course, I was only allowed partake on the condition that I mimed, but I think that just adds another dimension. I was extra special! 😛

 

[mayfever]

mayfever agrees: school musicals? You gotta be kidding, right? I LIVED for them. You're starting to scare me, woman

Oh little do you know my friend! I was the best Jacob, Joseph and His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat has ever seen! 😛

I also played the shit out of wench #3 in Oliver. 😀

Of course, I was only allowed partake on the condition that I mimed, but I think that just adds another dimension. I was extra special! 😛

aaaaaaand Kean and May are hijacking another thread!

The first role I had was Benjamin in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat". (I never had a role where I was allowed to sing alone, which was probably a good thing.) After that I was an apostle in "Jesus Christ Superstar", "Kid No.1" in "Momo", a tourist guide in a truly horrible piece written by two of our music teachers set in Brazil and my last stellar appearance was as Tjegge in "Ronja the Robber's Daughter". I was bitterly disappointed that I was too young to get a part in "Hair" in my first year, because despite my inability to use my voice in a pleasing manner, I LOOKED JUST THE PART. Frilly skirts and everything.

 

[Kean]

aaaaaaand Kean and May are hijacking another thread!

The first role I had was Benjamin in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat". (I never had a role where I was allowed to sing alone, which was probably a good thing.)

Pfft. I was never allowed to sing fullstop. That's why I was such a perfect fit for Jacob, just the one spoke line. 🙂

I LOOKED JUST THE PART. Frilly skirts and everything.

You were clearly robbed!

 

[mayfever]

You were clearly robbed!

Oh I was love, I was.

Did you regularly develop crushes on the male leads like I did? Me, I fancied Judas, Gigi the tour guide and Mattis the robber chief for a good part of my teens. As stereotypes go, Mattis came out about a year later.

 

[Kean]

Oh I was love, I was.

Did you regularly develop crushes on the male leads like I did? Me, I fancied Judas, Gigi the tour guide and Mattis the robber chief for a good part of my teens. As stereotypes go, Mattis came out about a year later.

Well, no. All girls school and the leads were usually my best friends. You know, those talented bitcas! *shakes fist* Ahem...yeah, so no crushes for Kean. The smell of fake tan alone...*gags*

We were always bitter that we weren't allowed join up with the all boys school across the road. I mean we both had our plays at the exact same time every year! It only made sense that we team up! (sw) ;p

 

[mayfever]

Well, no. All girls school and the leads were usually my best friends. You know, those talented bitcas! *shakes fist* Ahem...yeah, so no crushes for Kean. The smell of fake tan alone...*gags*

We were always bitter that we weren't allowed join up with the all boys school across the road. I mean we both had our plays at the exact same time every year! It only made sense that we team up! (sw) ;p

Oh. All girls. I only had that pleasure for the short period I went to school in England, and that was something else. It wasn't a convent school though, was it?

Maybe you should be grateful that you weren't allowed to team up tho. There was always a helluva lot of drama going on behind the scenes and I distinctly remember a weekend where the audience had to sit through a very strained and awkward rendition of "I don't know how to love him" because Jesus and Mary Magdalene had had a fight and Mary didn't know how to love Jesus because he had got too many fan letters from the pre-teen members of the apostle choire.

Now I'm thinking I'd like to go back just to experience that again.

 

[Summerlilly]

High school in Hawai'i was interesting. Bad and good, a shitload of fun and excrutiatingly painful all at the same time. Being a white haole (not a dark skinned local) put me in the minority. I hung out in "haole" hall with the skaters, surfers, popular people, and the hippies....even though I was the most shy girl around, painfully shy according to some. I just had a few friends that were NOT shy....so I slipped right on in. Plus, I couldn't hang out anywhere else since I was haole (and kind of a hippie that dressed like a boy 😉).

Even though I was shy I did my fair share of partying! I mean, it's Hawai'i! Most of the memories I try to keep are the ones where I was a teenager having fun with no "real" responsibilities! Those people that try to friend me on FB or say hi at the bar when I'm home for xmas but never said one word to me in high school can SUCK it! ha ha So overall, it was hard to be a shy haole hippe girl but awesome to grow up in paradise!

 

[Zeppo]

I feel like I should clarify, my high school experience wasn't bad. It was better than most people's I'm sure, as I was everyone's friend but when you're everyone's friend there's gotta be some fakeness somewhere from both parties, I think. I just look back on it and think, "Man, what a crappy deal we all were handed." School was simply a filler for me until I could get to rehearsal's at night. I strived for a likable image in high school and was seen as a calm, cool, guy. Which I was and am. But I don't know if that's what I naturally was or if that's what public school made me (because I feel like deep down I'm not that guy, I'm actually quite a fricken spaz.). I hope that makes sense.

 

[mayfever]

I strived for a likable image in high school and was seen as a calm, cool, guy. Which I was and am. But I don't know if that's what I naturally was or if that's what public school made me (because I feel like deep down I'm not that guy, I'm actually quite a fricken spaz.). I hope that makes sense.

Haha, let me tell you a secret - that's what everyone feels like, only some manage to hide it better than others. It's what we call teenage angst 🙂

(and kind of a hippie that dressed like a boy )

Oh my god, I remember my horrible "fashion" "sense" now. Read: I didn't have any. My parents were really strict and trying to raise me away from all that consumerism and popular culture, hence I didn't have a TV or nice clothes (in retrospect it IS kind of a miracle that I wasn't bullied to death). I was deadly ashamed of that, but I tried to paper it over by cultivating a reputation of not caring - I wore my cousin's hand-me-down slacks, trainers &"rebellious" statement t-shirts (you know the sort - "You're lips keep moving but all I can hear is BLA BLA BLA") and not a scrap of make-up. (I didn't even own mascara until I was 19) I would have worn his band shirts, but since I was raised in a culture-free environment I didn't know who these bands were. Surprisingly enough, I never dated anyone from my school 😀 (Well I did, but only in my last year and he had already graduated and gone to college). In fact, everyone probably thought I was a lesbian.

It's probably true what they say - what doesn't kill us makes us funnier :tongue3:

 

[Taake]

Well I actually quite liked high school, my home life was hell back then but my school life pretty kick-ass. Except for some boredom every now and then from the routines I pretty much though it was a blast.

That said I'd never go back to repeat it because well... that'd just be sad. But as far as experiences go it wasn't a bad one to me 🙂

 

[Fusions2]

Sometimes I think it all comes down to the school itself and how well they actually try to help everyone and give them the best they can before they move on.

I didn't have any of that in secondary school, my school thrived on the academic and sporting achievements. To me it always felt like that those who did well in those areas got the best of the best. I was not one of them, even though I was good at sports I chose not to do it because I had done it so much in primary school. I was never good academically and I was put in a lot of the bottom classes that always had those who couldn't be arsed to learn. They loved to wind up the teachers who couldn't control a class and by the time it all settled down the lesson was over. On top of that my year was incredibly bitchy, I have never had so much back stabbing in my life, it was constant.

I went from someone who was so happy and bubbly to someone who was quiet, down and had zero confidence. This was to the point where I didn't want to go school at all and I actually did want to learn deep down. Just not in that school. I think a lot of what went on in school has shaped who I am today in some ways. I think if I had gone to a better school I may have had a better school experience, but I would never ever do school again. Been there, done that and got my GCSE's.

 

[Summerlilly]

Old Master 3.0 agrees: I've never been to Hawaii, but that "haole" word never fails to piss me off

Yes, I think it was originally meant to just mean "foriegner" but has evolved into a racial slur. The land of love and aloha certainly has its fair share of prejudices.

 

[Ollehh]

Secondary school wasn't bad for me, but for some reason, I couldn't stand it. I always felt lonely, I took half a year off (January-July) in my first year there, so when I got back, everyone had made friends and gone off in groups and the cliques had been established.
I wasn't exactly popular, but everyone knew me, but I never decided to actually get into a group and make proper friends (apart from hanging with my best friend in Science and two girls I'd seen around, we formed a good friendship in that class by the end of Year 11.) Although, I did begin to socialise at the end of Year 10 and during Year 11. I think I only did this 'cos we were leaving soon and it wouldn't really matter what they thought of me since in a few months I'd probably never see any of them again. However, I regret doing that, since I did make quite a few friends in those last few months and my classes seemed more bearable.
Anyway, I've just started college, and I have to say, it's much better than Secondary school, there's no cliques, since we're one class, and we all pretty much get along and everyone hangs out with each other, which I love. And the people are so much friendlier now and much easier to talk to.
Even though I did hate secondary school, I do miss it at times. I miss some of the events that happened, and even though this group of guys used to tease me, usually in a jokey way (although towards the end, we actually had proper conversations) and I just miss the atmosphere in general. And, I know it sounds cheesy, but, I think the situations have actually turned me into a better person, I've become much more outgoing and sociable after leaving, I realised I should've been talking to people and making friends, but I was too scared to, nowadays, I'm not nervous about meeting new people.

 

[Zeppo]

Haha, let me tell you a secret - that's what everyone feels like, only some manage to hide it better than others. It's what we call teenage angst 🙂

Oh I know and looking back it sucks. Which is why I was talking about home school before to eliviate a huge portion of that pressure. Some may disagree with me on that but that's ok. Teen angst, haha.

 

[Chosen Enemy]

The nightmare from high school was in 10th grade I think, and it includes math class. I was new in school, started a little late because I've just moved from another school. And at the beginning they tested me to see what level I am at at math. I guess I did well in the test, don't know how, but I found myself in the regular class. Not in the "horrible at math" class, and not in the "Best Einsteins class". That turned out to be a HUUUGE mistake, because I've been tested before and someone remembered to tell me a little too late that I had a learning disabillity in math. Which as a result, those math classes were a nightmare. I didn't understand anything the teacher taught us. I took 2 private teachers to help me with the math, and I still failed in the end of the year. I suffered for no reason, just because someone made a mistake by not telling me about the math disabillity.

 

[svp]

Oh God, high school. It's funny, it didn't seem so bad when I was there, but looking at it from the graduated point of view, I wouldn't go back if someone grabbed me by the scalp and dragged me.

I think my biggest issue was how limiting it is in a lot of ways. I went to a catholic high school with about 2200 kids, and one of the things I remember most clearly is dreading going down to the cafeteria alone and having to wait at a table by myself if my friends were stuck late in class or sick that day or whatever.

High school wasn't horrible and it didn't exactly leave scars on my psyche (or however eloquently Jane Espenson put that) but I do remember very clearly having a minor mental breakdown the summer after grade nine just telling myself over and over that I only had to get through three more years.

It probably didn't help that on my very first day of school I was followed home and had chocolate thrown at me by some asshole senior guys who thought it'd be funny to 'niner' (read:haze) one of the new kids. Oy.