I learned a great life lesson in high school. Life isn't fair. It's pretty universal knowledge, and I've been bitter about it since. I'm beyond thankful that I didn't peak in high school. I have so much to look forward to and explore. I don't wake up every day wishing I could go back and I have not missed it once. Don't get me wrong, missing the people is one thing but I'm talking about the high school experience as a whole. I hated it. Allow me to explain why.

Getting back to life not being fair, high school taught me firsthand all about that. Good people usually end up getting the short end of the stick or shoved to the side because their name doesn't hold much money or power. Oh, and my absolute favorite! Athletics. If you don't play sports then you can kiss special treatment goodbye. Well, I assure you I was no star athlete. I had the pleasure of being what I like to call a 'student.' LOL. I know that everyone attending any school is classified as such but I mean it in the simplest of terms. Just another face in the hall, just another kid in a classroom, just another underdeveloped mind. To clarify, I'm not saying that all faculty is mean or disrespectful because much like them, I had my favorites too. And I'm also not writing this to bash anyone school itself. I'm positive that this pertains to most, if not all. I'm merely making a point. I was not anything special or important to my school. I watched other kids like myself, good kids, get unfairly treated in minor ways just because they weren't at the level of the favorites. If you played a certain sport but broke a rule then it would always somehow go unnoticed or be taken care of in a private manner. Those same kids would continue to break the rules with no further actions. However, if you weren't important enough to them, you best believe you were punished by the rules of the book since they would only follow it then. The major athletes, the board's kids, the smartest brains get the red carpet rolled out for them. And boy, are they praised. It doesn't matter how much wrong they do, we pretend they don't. Everything gets handed to them. They get out of things all too easy. They are the popular that walk the halls of every high school. And you know what? Thank God the red carpet stayed rolled up for me.

No, I did not peak in high school. It was not the highlight of my life. It was not a mountaintop experience for me. I am so glad that it showed me that you won't always be special but it's okay. Work for what you want and have. Be proud of who you make yourself. If knowing that my biggest joy was those four years of my life then how sad would the rest of it be? You graduate so you can move on not stay stuck in it. I didn't want that special treatment. It doesn't help you grow as a person and I don't believe it betters you. All those favorites learn quickly after their senior year what it's like to be a student. Average, normal and the majority can't deal. They end up back at their alma mater every Friday night or chance they get or they drink it all away. Peaking in high school is not something I wished for. It taught me real life. It taught me to grow up. Mommy and Daddy can fix your problems for a little while, they can tell you how special you are, and they can pay your way to the top but eventually it ends. The state ring on your finger doesn't get you whatever you want anymore. Head cheerleader, star quarterback, all that fades away. If you depend on high school for your happiness, I recommend you get a reality check.

Now I admitted in the beginning that I am very bitter about this. But only because I know it continues to happen and the schools are so selfish. Favoritism is hurting these kids but it keeps their legacy high and shining. It's a sick racket. Sweeping kid's dirt under the rug so they can win you a ball game is an unhealthy way to treat any young person. They don't learn the wonderful lesson I did. I know that not everyone in life will love me. I wasn't doted on like them. After graduation, that's all they will crave and it won't come. Because in real life, they become leveled with the people like me. Welcome to the land of the nobodies. They, unfortunately, peaked in high school and high school is exactly who to blame for their misfortune.

I urge all high schools everywhere to have some principles(no pun intended). The harm that you bring to these kids is so real. You spoon feed them so that they never learn to feed themselves. Ironic since I thought that's what school is about in the first place. Priorities are lost in the waves of statuses and numbers. Sports reign, money reigns, where does the well-being of the future leaders of America lie? Because of your selfish desire as institutes to be number one at everything, these kid's lives end on that football field senior year or basketball court or whatever it may be. Stop preparing them for temporary greatness and do your job. Pampering needs to end. Treat every kid equally and how they turn out is no longer on your shoulders. And for those kids who get mad or offended, take a second to think it's probably because you're walking the red carpet right now. Don't peak in high school. Life doesn't end on graduation day, it begins.

Shame on you schools of America who justify such sinister ways. Enough is enough. Take a stand. Show these impressionable minds the reality. Punish them how and when they should be. Teach them that favorites don't exist. As a school system, their future rests in your hands, faculty, staff, coaches. We are the future of America. Raise us all equally for permanent greatness.