Ten Years Later

-

The other day I received an invitation to my ten year high school reunion, and I have no desire to go. I didn't enjoy high school, though there were good times during that four year period, overall when I think back to that time I'm reminded of huge waves of awkwardness, depression, and anxiety that I see no reason to revisit or celebrate. People who knew me then are usually surprised to learn that I was unhappy during that four year period, that's because I became good at hiding my emotions (Also, driving to school in the mornings blasting “The Best of The Who” helped as well).

Most people thought of me as a weirdo, and I was fine with that. I wasn't really anti-social, but I was rarely invited to anything. Football games didn't strike my fancy as an idea of a good time, so I usually spent of my Friday nights in watching Alfred Hitchcock movies and British comedies on BBC America. Looking back on it now, I'm OK with the fact that I was that way. I'm an introvert anyway, though I didn't know it at the time.

So much of high school is being pressured to go along with this conception of “the norm”. You go THESE games, you listen to THIS music, you see THESE movies. Add on top of this the horror stories of “oh, you're a Freshman, the Seniors are gonna treat you like crap!” or the constant reminder from some of “These are the best four years of your life, cherish them!” That last statement really led me to become even more inside myself during my Sophomore year, when I was at my most miserable.

Freshman year was actually kinda nice, I was having a fine time overall, and was hanging with some of the Seniors which was a big deal to others for some reason. Not to mention the day a rather attractive female Senior kissed me in the hallway, which was nice. Sophomore? Ugh, I barely recall any of it. I do recall that I was a rabid fan of Monty Python, and my friends and I were desperately trying to write things that came close to being as good as they were. Even then, I always had this urge to be creative.

Come Junior year I was beginning to become more confident and happy with myself. Senior year I was just angry and ready to move on, though I did have some great teachers during those four years that made it worthwhile—I'm still in touch with most of them. There's also the fact that Senior year I was on the school paper, writing a VERY rudimentary version of this column. How did I survive? You find what works for you. For me it was endless episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Why that? Because to this day it makes me laugh incredibly hard, and back then I would watch it thinking to myself “I get this. Other people get this. I can't be alone in the way my brain works.”

Come Senior year when my tastes in music were really starting to boom, I had a lot of friends, and even one teacher giving me suggestions for what to listen to. I was discovering Jazz, and Frank Sinatra. Then one day a friends hands you a CD with nothing but a pop art banana on the cover and you discover “The Velvet Underground and Nico”. One day you're talking with an English teacher, and they ask you “Have you ever heard anything by Frank Zappa?” The day I left high school I actually drove off campus blasting “I'm Free” by The Who, because I thought that's what you do when you're 18.

I hope those who go to the reunion do have a good time, and I wish no ill will towards anyone. But will I be going? No. Because, I honestly don't care. It's ten years later, and I don't need to worry about a four year period of my life. If you're someone reading this who is in high school, and feels a misfit and a weirdo, that's perfectly fine. Because you too will discover that being a weirdo is like having a super awesome secret power that will take you to amazing places later on in life. So if anyone tells you high school is the four best years of your life. It means it was for them, and that does not apply to you. Also, maybe you should start listening to The Ramones, because they're The Ramones.

Ten years later, I still march to the beat of my own drum, and live in my own lovely weird world. I wouldn't have it any other way

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Exploring The Archive

-
Image
You want to know something? It's an obscenely great time to be a classic movie fan. Especially if you're a young classic movie fan, something that I am, and something that it seems is growing in numbers every day. Young people—mostly 20 somethings—who are passionate about classic films, and realize that they are important, and must be shared with others. It's easy for us to take for granted how spoiled we are. We can access virtually any movie we want to. We can get a DVD, we can go to Netflix, we can rent it on iTunes, we can spend a day watching them on TCM. It's truly an embarrassment of riches. But what for those movies that have fallen through the cracks? Those obscure gems, cult classics, and forgotten favorites that never managed to hit home video in the days of VHS? There is a facet of hardcore movie lovers who want to own as much as possible. But home video is a business, and the mega chains aren't going to stock the odd titles that only hardc...
Read more

Red, White, and Blaine

-
Image
In 1996 Christopher Guest returned to the mockumentary genre with his look at regional theater “Waiting for Guffman.” Guest, most famously, being one-third of the fictional rock band Spinal Tap in the perhaps the best mockumentary ever made, “This is Spinal Tap.” “Guffman” also kicks off the cycle of Christopher Guest directed mockumentaries. The films all using the same group of actors, and all written by Guest with Eugene Levy, both of whom also act in the films. Guest’s films are largely improved by the actors, with the written material serving as an outline for the film’s story. “Guffman” takes place in the fictional town of Blaine, Missouri—a small town that is celebrating its 150th anniversary. Big dreamer and New York Transplant, Corky St. Clair (Guest) has created a musical celebration of the town called “Red, White, and Blaine.” The show within the show appears towards the end of the film, Guest teamed up with his "Spinal Tap” cohorts, Michael McKean & Harry S...
Read more

It's The Holiday Season

-
Image
Now don't get huffy at me, but let's face it. Once Halloween is over, it's the Holiday season. The stores have cleared away the spooks and spiders, and the snow and evergreen begins to make it's appearance. Everyone bemoans over the fact that they forget about Thanksgiving, but what do you want to do? Walk into Target and buy a plastic pilgrim? Thanksgiving is the holiday that you celebrate at the supermarket, while freaking out over the coming tidal wave of family and expectations. On the first of the month, I found myself out and about running errands. One department store I visited was already playing Christmas music, trees and glittery snowflakes up all over the place. With the Halloween paraphernalia all marked down to the lowest price. The only stores where you're not bonked over the head with Christmas, would be those food and kitchen specialty stores. They want you geeked up to cook a giant turkey dinner for the family, using their amazingly handy b...
Read more