Thursday, July 21, 2011

10 Best and Worst Things About High School

In the spirit of Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar, I decided to write my blog entry as a top-ten list since the main character, Scott, writes many lists for his sibling-to-be in the story. After rereading this book, I spent some time reflecting on my life in high school, and I realized that a lot of the best things about that time period are also the worst things. Here's my list of the top ten things that are the best AND worst things about life in high school:

10. Choosing which college to attend
9. Parents
8. Figuring out who your real friends are
7. Prom
6. All school dances for that matter
5. Your first love
4. Learning to drive
3. Your first job
2. Realizing that you really are growing up
1. Finding out who you are

How can these things be both good and bad, you ask? Let's see;

#10- Choosing a college- It's an important decision. What will you study? Where will you live? What friends will you meet? Which college will accept you? What will the admissions boards of the colleges think when they examine the supposed summary of who you are: the SAT scores, grades, and application that can never truly sum up the person you are and the promise you hold? It's an important decision, and it's stressful, and it consumed me much of junior year. In the end, you will go where you go, and you will like it or not like it, or maybe a little bit of both, but either way, you and your parents will make a big decision about your future. Maybe you won't even go to college. Whatever happens, you will be alright. Figuring that out is the really cool part of the whole process.

#9 Parents- You love your parents, of course, but they also drive you nuts! I, for one, longed for more independence when I was in high school. But my mom was not too impressed with me when I lost my car keys twice in less than a month. Yeah, that actually happened. But what would we do without our parents?

#8 Friends- Figuring out who my real friends were was a painful process for me. Maybe some of you have gone through this in middle school. It's taken me over 30 years to realize that I have to be my own best friend. I have to enjoy my own company. Also, when you find a true friend who loves you as you are, someone who can make you laugh but watch you cry.... it's truly a blessing.

#7 Prom- Finding a dress, finding a date, finding a new date when things didn't work out with the first dare... Oy. What an ordeal the whole thing was! But guess what? I married my prom date, and it's been working out very well!

#6 School dances- Fun, but also a big hassle.

#5 First love- Think of all of your relationships as a mirror of who you really are. Sometimes, you will like what you see. Sometimes, you won't. But if you take a good, hard look at yourself, you can start to change the face in the mirror.

#4 Learning to drive- Nothing is cooler than cruising in your car with your friends when you are a teenager. Nothing. Learning how to drive? I am still working on that!

#3 First job- My first job was working at a day care. It was not easy. Sometimes I loved it; sometimes it was stinky, literally. But your first job is an important step in your life. You'll find out a lot about yourself.

#2 Growing up- Growing up means that you have responsibilities, which can be a drag. It also means that you can be your own person. You can make your own decisions, answer your own questions, and solve your own problems. It feels good.

#1 Finding out who you are- I made this one number one because it's the most important in my mind. It's not easy, but it's crucial to your happiness. I think finding out who you really are is an ongoing process, but it begins in middle school and high school. Hopefully, you will like the person you discover. Chances are, if you like that person, most other people will too.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my post. I know that it's rather long, so thanks for reading until the end. What would you add to my list? Do you agree or disagree with any of the items that I have chosen to include?

For more insight into the life of one witty and wise teenager, read Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar. I recommend it to students entering 7th and 8th grades. Happy reading!

-Mrs. Kleinknecht

4 comments:

  1. Wow! What a great post!

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  2. Mrs. Kleinknecht,
    I still have to read this one! but I couldn't agree with you more about #1. Knowing/discovering yourself is a lifelong process! Ha! And to think I thought I knew it all in my teens/twenties!
    Mrs. G.

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  3. Great insights, Mrs. Kleinknecht. Thank for the little trip down Memory Lane. It's been a looooong time since I thought about all that high school offered.

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  4. It is wonderful to have such a creative person as a resource for us. Great post, Mrs. K, you really know how to add interest to a novel review. I usually never look back, but your post made a nice trip down memory lane for me. Thanks, Mrs Domenick

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