What Were You Like in High School?

Hey Everyone,

This is something I've wanted to ask for a while:

* What were you like in high school? What groups/clubs/cliques did you belong to?

* Who were your friends? Who were your favorite teachers, and why?

* What were your favorite subjects, and what did you intend to do after high school? (Did it go as planned?)


My church denomination had several local lower-level schools in the area, so our Christian high school was kind of like a big community center of all these schools combined. It was a curious thing because once we all got there, some people were already "famous" because they were sports stars, had well-known musical talent, or were the offspring of someone famous in the church community (a pastor or teacher, etc.)

And then there was the rest of us. (My Dad didn't become a pastor until I was an adult and had moved away, and, seeing the pressure other pastor's kids went through, I've thanked him for that quite often.)

I've often said I'm an introvert who can occasionally masquerade as an extrovert, and my freshman year I was eager to meet new people and try to reinvent myself to some extent. Within the first few months, I found myself a part of nearly every activity you can imagine (student body, volleyball, yearbook, choir...)

By my senior year, the reality of typical teenage despair and angst had set in and I had withdrawn from almost everything. The popular girls had given me the title of "The Nerd Magnet" (because they said I'd talk to any nerd within a 10-mile radius), and I embraced their label and all its negativity wholeheartedly. I could talk to most anyone fairly easily, but conversation does not equal inclusion. I have always felt most at home with others like myself who don't really fit under any label.

My best friend in high school was a guy who was nearly 6'4" (seeing as I'm 5'1", we were quite the duo), had long hair, and always dressed in black, including sunglasses (he wasn't even trying to be cool or mysterious, he just had extremely sensitive eyes) and a black trench coat. (I, on the other hand, had fully embraced the "neon colors in every shade... all at the same time" fad.) Jocks only talked to me when they wanted answers to their homework or dates with my friends (I'm not trying to stereotype here--I'm just speaking from my experience), while everyone at school people whispered that my friend, because of his appearance, surely worshiped Satan (one of the things that drew me to him was how well he knew the Bible.)

What were your high school years like for you? (Everyone is welcome to answer, including marrieds and those who are still IN high school.)

For me, high school seems like just a blip now, but back then, it was everything. Sometimes, when I get tired and frustrated with this life, I can hear God telling me that someday I'll look back, and this life will be a lot like high school--it seems like such a big deal at the time, but someday, it won't really matter.

Seeing how you are now , I'm not really sure any of us can handle the thought of you as a teenager!!!

(But seriously... what was high school like for you, Willie? I'm really interested in hearing about people's experiences from across the board, including different ages.)

And, I promise not to make a single joke about turning in your homework on stone tablets.

Young!

In the UK High school goes up to the age of 16 then you
do your main subject exams.

After that you can get a job or go into higher education if you want
to stay on in education, college for example, apprenticeships or vocational training.

Then at 18 it's onto university if you want to, unless you decide to
take a gap year out from education.

What was I like? A 6 foot blonde towering over all the girls and half the boys. I played Volleyball, basketball, was QB of the powder puff team, I never dated any one from my high school, only guys in college. I was in Student council, my favorite classes were Science and Drama. I was friends with more boys then girls, as most girls especially then were to dramatic and I couldn't hang. I argued a LOT with my bible teacher. I was constantly in trouble for my skirts being to short. It finally dawned on them it wasn't the skirts, but my legs and they left me alone. My hair was HUGE and by my senior year I was done with school by 11am. I left and never looked back. I have never been to a reunion and I am perfectly happy leaving the past in the past. It was simply a blip of my life here on earth!

* What were you like in high school? What groups/clubs/cliques did you belong to?

i was in the honors classes. most of us had the same classes together, so we were a pretty tight group. by senior year, having all of us in the same class meant constant talking. lol. in english iv, our teacher tried to give us a seating chart to stop people from talking so much, but it didn't work AT ALL. i wasn't about that school spirit stuff. i just wanted to graduate and move on with life. lol. oh and i was an orchestra nerd. i guess i was considered a nerd because i was all about getting good grades. i knew the only way i was going to college was through scholarships. my goal was to graduate in the top 10. let's just say... i really met that goal lol

* Who were your friends? Who were your favorite teachers, and why?

my friends were the smart kids. my fave teachers were my orchestra teacher (knew him since the 6th grade) and my english I-III teacher (she taught us all 3 yrs. we were pretty heartbroken when she told us she wasn't teaching us our last year). i also liked my geometry/calculus teacher.

* What were your favorite subjects, and what did you intend to do after high school? (Did it go as planned?)

faves were orchestra and math. i was planning to be an accountant, but nah. lol

Seoulsearch, I can identify with being the "nerd" and most of what you said about people just being nice to get answers for homework..I hated when they try to bs you with all the niceties when you're like dude stop the crap....you just want me to do your hw. After that I am a ghost to you..... Also, I never had a girlfriend at all in high school, most thought I was "too nice" and studious and they liked the rowdy crazy guys and athletes. My friends were gamers/ guys who were half-popular and half-nerdy. Even then I felt like the odd one out....so much so some people who met me call me an "anomaly" b/c I didn't care for much of the stuff like watching TV series, partying etc. I found it kind of dull/boring...although it sounds weird HS was the best time of my life, when I had some good friends and probably the best years so far of my life...some of my friends took wrong turns after HS but thank God He kept me on a straight path....
I applied myself to my studies and with God's help along with discipline I ended up with a good career....I guess like this video (one of my faves) says the nerds always win in the end....

[video=youtube;kggeN-wjnck]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kggeN-wjnck[/video]

I was quiet and shy

I am in high school...

What's it like for you, Colt?

1) I was the nerd/geek whatever you want to call it. I hung out with the nerds, the misfits, the special ed kids, and mostly the teachers....On multiple occasions I had substitute teachers haul me up to the front of the class to help them find stuff or tell them what we were doing because the teacher wrote something about if you don't know what to do, ask Kody
I was on the chess and scrabble teams and played intramural sports.
2) My favorite teacher was one I never had...because it was my sister...
My favorite non-related teacher was the math teacher or the Spanish teacher. You could go them about anything and they really cared. I may have even accidentally proven my math teacher wrong, but he never took it personally, he was always open to being corrected, which actually allowed the 2 of us to discuss further into math subjects that neither of us fully understood and what the class was not even doing.
3) My favorite subject was math...especially algebra or geometry. I was the crazy kid who loved proofs. I wanted to do something in criminal justice. My college criminal law professor actually got me interested in becoming a lawyer and I am working toward that.

I was shy, I said nothing until I found some others who also didn't fit in and we had a great time. The first 3 years was mixed with loud trouble makers, but the other 3 haha the whole class was kinda shy and we just were there to learn things. The science teacher got so frustrated that noone said anything that he once yelled: say something please!!! Lol that was funny.

One of the other hallmarks about my high school was that it was seen as a "dumping ground" for some of troubled kids that got kicked out of the neighboring public school systems. As if our school could somehow reform them... (Ha!! They couldn't even keep US in line.)

Now, I know there were good people and dedicated teachers at my high school, and there were several whom I really appreciated.

But one thing I really disliked about it is that you NEVER saw a pregnant girl or single mother at my high school.

Why? Because they all "disappeared". Any girl who got pregnant (and there were a few) were quietly removed from the school and either sent somewhere else or went to get their GED's.

I don't know if their policy has changed at all (probably not), but when I was there, even the pastors' daughters were not exempt from this unspoken, but well-known "rule". Everyone whispered that it was for the best, because having pregnant girls would "look bad" for the school.

This is one of the reasons I am the way I am (a little bit rebellious and someone who hates Christian cliches and hypocrisy with a passion), because I was surrounded by an atmosphere that taught about the love, forgiveness, and mercy of Christ--but in so many real-life situations like this, it felt like it was nowhere to be found (to me, at least.)

I have to confess that one of the reasons I've studied the Bible so intensely in my own time was simply to have a load of ammunition with which to defend myself from all the ridiculous legalism I saw around me all the time.

1. I wasn't much different than I am now. Maybe a little more naive, and trusting. I've experienced some painful things. - I didn't really belong to any groups/clubs/cliques. Possibly because I was home schooled.

2. Kids from youth group. I didn't have very many, just few. The favorite teacher question only sort of applies to me. I was home schooled, so my mom was my teacher. I was also duel enrolled at the university towards the end of high school, so I guess I could say that professor was my high school teacher, though I think of him as a College professor. Of all of my college professors, Gary Douglas Young II was my favorite, and a huge inspiration in my life. He encouraged me when I presented the idea of writing a book, and I learned a lot from him, in regards to writing.

3. My favorite subject was English. It came extremely easily to me, I could complete any of the English work in short amount of time. Math was a struggle for me, I understood it, and could do it, but I was very slow at number crunching.
In high school, I intended to Join the US Air Force. My goal was to finish college and then go to OTS. If that didn't work, I intended to try working for the: CIA,NSA,FBI,ATF,DHS, etc.. This did not go planned. Neither the Air Force, those agencies or other branches of the military wanted me.
Clearly, God had other plans.

Miri stole my answer.... young.

Actually, I was somewhere just above midpoint (maybe 6.5 out of 10) on the "socially accepted" scale. I ran with about 5 or 6 guys who all tried to be "cowboys". We were the "football" guys, as opposed to the "basketball guys". I was was co-captain of the football team as a senior, and somehow got voted "best looking senior" (I went to a VERY small school ) I remember being confused about a lot of social "norms" that would allow me to be perceived as "cool".
I dated the same girl from sophomore year through graduation, then married her about a year after graduation. I don't recommend doing that at all. Nope.
Overall, high school was fun... I didn't take studying very seriously at all. I could make mostly B's without any study, so that's what I did. We did all the typical stupid teenage stuff that kids in the early 70's did... I stayed away from drugs, but not beer.. I smoked cigarettes with my friends, and dipped snuff (I was a Skoal man)... I worked at a donut shop in the mornings before school during my senior year.

There's probably more, but that's likely TMI at this point, so I'll stop.

I was shy, quiet, and kind of weird. I had a few different groups of friends, but I didn't really fit with any- I hung out with all the kids who didn't seem to fit anywhere, and I hung out with stoners, goths, band geeks, nerds, girls who were on the fringe of the 'in' crowd. I took Journalism for a semester, but didn't care for it- having to interview people who bullied my friends wasn't my cup of tea. I was in choir...which was a joke until my sophomore year when we got a teacher who actually knew what he was doing- Mr. Zentz. He was scary but awesome and he turned that class into a choir that won competitions rather than a class people took just to fill up their schedules. I took both concert and chamber choir (concert choir was open for everyone, chamber choir had to be auditioned for), and with Mr. Zentz coaching me, I got up the nerve to try out for a Phantom of the Opera solo. I didn't get it, though Mr. Zentz said I would have if my grades in my other classes had been better.

I failed science and math classes. I never did the homework, so even with passing tests, my report cards were terrible. I frustrated a lot of teachers that way...simply being lazy. My mom got really angry at me every time I brought home another report card with comments from the teachers saying I was bright but lazy, I had potential but didn't apply myself.

I was just too busy...There were boys to chase and be chased by, friends to gossip with and about, windows to sneak out of, rivers and lakes to swim in, books to read (never text books)...

I had no plans for my future, I didn't want to go to college, I wasn't getting enough credits to graduate...I had no direction or goals whatsoever, so I don't think anyone was all that surprised that I dropped out halfway through junior year. Some people were a little surprised that I moved to North Carolina and got married. Nobody (except me) was shocked when it didn't work out.

High school was just...you know...ridiculous, for me. There are great memories, and bad memories, and none of it matters at all now except that I can tell my kids what Not to do. I got my GED 8 years ago and got my head on straight more recently, and I'm just glad high school is behind me.

I use to stand up for anyone who got picked on.
Come to think of it, I still do.



I also ate a lot of french fries.

I'm trying to like people's posts as they share their stories... I'm sorry if I missed anyone--it's not on purpose, I'm just trying to keep up with posts as I go about daily chores.

I find it interesting that the majority of people describe themselves as being "shy and quiet" in high school. Are you still that way now? And if so, I wonder if that's the big attraction of sites like this on the internet--it gives a voice to the shy and quiet.

You know, like Willie.

(Just kidding, Mr. William, Sir!!)

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!~