High School

I went to open house at the high school last night.  I had such a nostalgic feeling as I walked through the halls and smelled the science lab and the gym.  Do you remember the smell of the gym?  That floor wax smell?  It hasn’t changed a bit.

There are all kinds of new gadgets and gizmos that weren’t around 30 years ago when I was in high school, but basically, kids are the same.  They’re trying to find their place.  They’re trying not to stand out or be different.  Well, most of them anyway.

I got a little excited as I walked from class to class to meet the teachers.  What was my teacher (my daughter’s teacher) going to be like?  Should I sit in the front or the back?  I found myself sending my daughter a text when I found out that she was having two tests today.  “You’re having a Spanish test!  Are you studying?”

And another text, “Oh, my goodness, sweetie!  You’re having a vocab test in English!  Are you studying?”

The reply:  “Mom.  Yes.”

If I had to go back and ‘do’ high school all over again, with the wisdom I have gained through the years, I would tell myself to branch out some.  I wouldn’t be so afraid of the ‘potheads’ or the kids who smoked outside.  I would get to know more people.

I would most definitely put a little more effort into my work.  I made good grades, but I could have made better.  I could have pushed myself more.

I would tell myself to not worry so much about fashion or style or where my friends bought their clothes.

But, all that stuff was important then and it’s still important now to teenagers.  It may take them 30 years to realize that what really mattered was how they treated people.  That’s what they will remember.