i guess it doesn't matter too much, because it's not like i have an ardent following of obsessive blog-readers... but i read over my last post about high school, and i feel it was a little unfair.
high school was stupid in some ways, yes. dances, social stuff, all that... it was a little overblown and seemed like a lot bigger deal than it was. a little perspective on prom and being popular would have served me well. but i think i must have been having a moment of bitterness or something when i wrote that last one.
maybe it's because i've subbed at my high school the past two days, but i feel a little more nostalgic and fond of my time here than i had when i wrote last. i've seen a few of my teachers who i really liked... after all, these were the teachers along the way who made me want to be a teacher. i've walked down the same halls and sat in the same classroom (literally, exact same classroom where i took the same class) and i thought, "hmmm. it wasn't so bad." and then i remembered this post.
sure, i was miserable at times. but who isn't? high school is tough, even for kids with a lot of friends. there are a million social, academic, and extracurricular obligations. i was also happy. i loved my english classes, and i thought my math and science teachers were great... even if i didn't always love the subject matter. there were plenty of great moments here, too.
i know that i made it clear that i wasn't actually saying high school was unimportant, but that a lot of the things that high school students think are important aren't... but i don't even know if i think that's true. i think maybe, what's more accurate is to acknowledge that these things are really important to people in high school. and even if i now know that they aren't the beginning and end of my life's happiness (thankfully), that doesn't lessen their importance at that time in my life.
when i was four, it was really important to wear this one outfit that i called the "taco bell" outfit. i don't know why... maybe the color scheme (definitely didn't actually have any tacos on it). anyway, it mattered. i loved that outfit. obviously now, the taco bell outfit doesn't remain the best part of my day, but it doesn't mean it was stupid of me to think it was important then. i was four. it was important.
so the same goes for high school. prom was important. having friends was important. losing weight was important. i got to college and realized that i shouldn't have placed so much emphasis on things. a bad prom doesn't make me less of a person. it just made me an unhappy high school student. but that's normal. and i am thankful for the unhappy times. like i said, i got to read a lot of good books and i developed a unique perspective. (not too unique... the world is filled with people whose happiness increased exponentially after high school).
but i can't say enough how much i appreciate the great teachers i had, my parents' willingness to let me dress the way i did and have the hair i did (my poor dad was so troubled by it), and my good friends who i still have today. high school wasn't a real-life version of she's the man or something, but it was good.
it was important then. and because of that, it's important now.
