4:34 p.m. - 2006-03-08
High School Memories
I was over reading Messy Christian�s entry today, and she was talking about High School memories. I somehow think I�ve been out of high school 15 years or so more than her, but I was struck by how things haven�t changed - even when it�s another country. Kids will be kids. Teens will be teens.
I graduated from High School in 1980. I was never so glad to be rid of an educational institution in my life! I disliked high school so much. I was a below-average student and I really wanted to dropout when I was 16, but I knew there was nowhere for me to go, so I might as well tough it out for the two more years.
During those ugly years I was not one of the popular bunch. As was defined by a teen mind in those years. I had a very small group of misfit friends I hung out with, but none of us were ever kids that felt we could fit into the �right� crowds. I, among others, was often the target for mean streaked, juvenile, nasty pranks.
One such occasion was me quietly sitting at my desk doing my work, when one of the �in� boys walked up to my desk and offered me a �Mojo�. A small, semi hard, wrapped candy, much like a Starburst (but not as sweet/tart). The minute the little gem was in my palm I knew this was no ordinary �gift�. This gift was ABC � Already Been Chewed, and re-wrapped perfectly for misdirection. Did I look like I just fell off the turnip truck? The snickers from a small grouping of desks just a few feet away confirmed any suspicions I may have had � always the same group of girls that openly showed great scorn and disgust at anyone �beneath� them. (I can still remember their names)
Needless to say � I didn�t eat it.
Now back to the future - 2 or 3 years ago I was back in my old High School hometown. My mom was very excited at our visit (naturally), but she was equally insistent that I go with her to the local grocery store. There was �something� that I just had to see.
Dutifully I went.
I could tell that my mom was searching for someone in particular, and she wouldn�t unhand my sleeve. I think she feared I would dash, given half a chance.
Finally the person she was looking for came out from behind the Tobacco/Lottery tickets counter. I�ll give you one guess who it was. Yes � it was one of the girls from that nasty �in� crowd and candy incident. She was ecstatic to see me and rushed away from paying customers to greet and hug me. I could feel the years of resentment flood back over me. It was as if I was 16 all over again � only this would never have happened when I was 16.
It�s funny what ghosts haunt you from our childhoods. What situations stay with you, and continue to evoke certain feelings.
This now woman was a fellow classmate and graduate of 1980. She saw a completely different view of the high school than I remembered. Not to say that she was right and I�m wrong, or vice-versa. It was just different. Her memory held fond thoughts of me obviously. Mine, did not, of her.
I have since (often) revisited that scene in the grocery store, and I�ve changed my mind on a few things. I am so thankful that I am not the person I was when I was a teenager, and there are a certain group of girls whom I hope have also grown beyond the teenage experience.
I wonder were they all are now.
