This is me throughout the years in high school.
(Okay, strange. Just realized I'm wearing my favorite fuzzy bunny sock on one foot, but not on the other. Hmph, 2012 was a weird year, amirite?)
Despite the smiling faces and somewhat notorious high school uniforms, internally, I was a wreck. Academically, high school treated me fine (with the exception of Algebra 2 and Honor's English freshman year. Now that was killer), but it was the social aspect that lingers in my mind till this day.
I didn't really party in high school.
Yes, Donna, Eric, Jackie, Fez, Kelso, Hermione, and Ellen: I repeat, I did not party in high school.
But, Gretchen, you all ask, with your milk glass falling into your lap due to utter surprise, why not? I mean, high school reeeeally sucks. Alcohol and people make that better!
Eh, no, and no. I mean, it's not like I ever went to a party, but I'm pretty sure my senior and junior year, I went to a party maybe three times total, as opposed to that number being multiplied by about 60 to average out my best friend's weekend plans.
My grade was relatively big, but the group of people that "partied" (a case of Bud Lite, a bottle of Svedka, and you were set!) wasn't so. The parties that I went to were around the same jocks, the same pretty girls with big asses and nice teeth, as well as your occasional chubby funny guy, who wasn't really that funny, but just told jokes about black people and women.
Yes, I had lots of friends there, but the other shallow and materialistic gals and guys in my grade tended to overshadow that. I know, it sounds absolutely ridiculous because I should've focused on my friends, but I found it impossible to enjoy myself.
I didn't find this pocket of mediocre athletes and snotty girls a group of people I wanted to be around. And every weekend, I would get a text saying, "Hey, we're going to _____! You're welcome to come!" Don't get me wrong: I loved the thoughtful gesture, but each and every time I found out it was the same people that were going, I wasn't really digging it. The frequent texts almost came to a bloody halt right after I kept ignoring the texts, faking that I was "busy" and didn't see it. I didn't want people to think I was stuck up or lame because I didn't enjoy hanging out with the "popular" crowd.
I started to become reclusive, and shut out some people I really cared about, because it seemed like if I didn't party, then I was kind of neglected, or deemed as unimportant. To be honest, it didn't really bother me. I liked spending time alone bingeing my latest Netflix series, or having an intimate group hang out at my house while we discussed politics, music, and whoever else knows what. I was like a 65 year old in an 18 year old's body, but like I said, I didn't really care. To me, I thought it was more important to be around people who were stimulating, and from whom I got a genuine vibe of kindness, friendliness, or humor.
Nowadays, I don't really keep in touch with those people I saw at parties who were in my class in high school. However, towards the end of high school, I made two really good friends who I hang out with almost every day in the summer. But the thing is, I didn't meet them at parties: I met one in band and the other through church. I couldn't be happier. I still had a fulfilling high school experience, even though I didn't like the taste of burning alcohol in my throat and girls that made it their priority to hook up with a guy when they were drunk.
The other day, in fact, I was at a kickback. It wasn't a party per se, but there were ones in high school that were similar, and I still didn't enjoy myself due to the excessive amount of cheap, gross alcohol and sh*tty people. Now, this kickback wasn't necessarily poppin' with any cute football players or outstandingly gorgeous women, but I had a fun time. Yes, I was drinking (but not driving!) a hard cider (still not that gross Svedka or Grey Goose that takes me back to one night when I was 17 at a party my junior year), chatting with some people I had known for a while, and some people I had known for an hour. Regardless, I had fun because I wasaround the right people (and drinks! Seriously, hard cider is so yummy.). I wasn't around a flock of goofballs who's balls hadn't dropped yet who obsessed overBlue Mountain State; I was around intelligent and down-to-earth college students who made me feel comfortable, positive, and at ease. I mean damn, I'm only 19, that's all there really is to it, right?
