Duped!

At 13, I was doped. I bought into all those cheesy high school movies. High school was supposed to be "An Experience." You would enter this place and all of a sudden you would change and become this ultra-popular ringleader, this geek, nerd, jock, dramatic, artist, goth, non-conformist, free spirit.

I was going to be a "floater". The type that gets all A's without breaking a sweat. My teachers would love me. I would be a part of five clubs, 3 of which I would create myself. I would ace the SATs and get into Dream U. I had it all figured out. The chapter on High School in my life plan was just the right amount of perfect to be perfect. But that was in Middle School. By the time sophomore year rolled in I had already come to grips with reality.

I hadn't expected to work very hard. Only junior year counted after all. I hadn't expected to learn anything that I didn't already know. High School was suppose to be an easy four years where I could sit in the back of a class, sorta listen to the teacher for the first 15 minutes, write down the homework and then catch up on my sleep. Needless to say, I have been duped. High School is nothing like I thought it would be. It's a stress inducing experience. It's definitely been hell. The boys, the friends, the slights, the fights, the break-ups, the ridiculousness of the whole thing. The parents who push you but wont let go. You have to deal with your issues, their issues, and your issues with each other. And did I mention the academics?

The sheer multitude of teachers you have to find a subtle way to suck up to? The marathon of grades and competition to see who will be the elite, the 95th percentile. And then the confrontation with the fact that financial issues make you Ivy League dreams uncertain. Then the desperate search for scholarships because apparently your parents didn't have the foresight to put away money for your education. So, no. High School is not the Mecca that I imagined. But at least I'm learning. I've learned how to work for what I want. How to be a more confident, assertive person. How to nicely manipulate people. How to study smarter, and even how to cut homework time in half. Did you know that teachers are actually people? You can talk to them. (I've tried it!)

In two years, I will be taking the next plunge and being the visionary that I am, I'm already thinking about college. After what've been through with high school I know I'm better prepared for what lies ahead, but this time I don't have a plan. I have a vague idea even though with this countries obsession with higher education I have been bombarded with images of what it should be like from everyone from my parents to people I have never seen before.

Some have advice. "Major in Nursing, you'll make good money" is what my mother says. And they all opinions. Stuff like "Don't go to this or that school because they're party school" or "Isn't that school filled with all those crazy militant lesbians? I wouldn't send my kid there" And I'm taking all of this 'advice' with a grain of salt, because I realize that high school is about other people. I go to this High School because my parents want to live here. I take these classes because the 'powers that be' think I should, and if they change their mind then I won't. College, when it comes, will be about me and my choices. But for now, I'm still stuck in high school prison. At least I know I'll never be late for class in college. By now my body has been programmed to awake at the exact moment when I have about 20 minutes to get ready, eat and leave.

Article provided by www.nextSTEPmag.com

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