High
School: Living
the Real Experience
The
typical ³high school experience² has an array of contentions: attending
unforgettable parties, sneaking out late at night, dressing up in your school
colors for a State game, wearing that cute sweater to the football game on
Friday, and of course, meeting brilliantly attractive members of the opposite
sex.
Coming
to Marian was an easy choice for me.
As a young girl of 13, I had but a real care in my life, other than a
boy here and there. Going to
school with only girls wasnıt a concern because Iıd meet boys anyway, as I
distinctly remember Mary Hinrichs, now a Marian senior, telling all the
incoming freshmen at the ice cream social.
Was
she right? Was I overwhelmed with
a gushing abundance of young males and copious serving of ³high school
experience?²
No. Absolutely not.
Sure, I met boys freshman year, but
maintaining contact and friendship with them is a different story. Somehow I feel as if I was lost in the
mob of freshman boys. There were
too many and I didnıt make an effort to establish quality friendships.
Now
Iım halfway through my junior year, and I feel as if Iım missing that core
group of guy friends and those crazy stories I can tell my kids.
Granted,
I canıt be the only girl like this.
There have to be girls out there with a close-knit group of guys and
unforgettable experiences. You
know, junior year is when your four best guy friends, three best girlfriends,
and you become completely inseparable and start making your own scrapbook. The rest of us are just socially inept.
Amidst
of my sarcasm, I still sometimes wonder if Iım missing out on something really
special with boys, and if missing these potentially crucial relationships and
general lack of high school mischief will weirdly turn me dysfunctional or lead
me to another undesirable destination.
Looking
from a different perspective however, Iıve begun to realize that maybe high
school isnıt about fulfilling the stereotypical ³high school experience,² or
that romanticized junior year.
Maybe high school is actually about the group of amazing girlfriends
Iıve met at Marian. The eight or
so girls who I could call anytime, and who would dance with me alone in my
living room on any Saturday night.
Now thatıs memorable.
Whether
or not your reality of a ³high school experience² involves members of the
opposite sex, one thing remains certain: any preconceived high school fantasies
should be labeled void. High
school is not about the friends you could have or the fun you think could be
having, but instead about the ones you do have and the fun you are
having. Upon realizing this,
youıll be able to paint your own portrait of high school, not just for the
future kids who want to hear about their crazy mom, but more importantly, for
yourself.