Glory Days

[Tempest]

When I was in high school, I didn't make it a secret that I loathed being there. Adults would tell me, in their condescending "you're too young to understand" voices, that once day I'd look back on those times as see them as my glory days.

Well here I am, almost 4 years later, and I still can't comprehend how anyone could perceive those 4 years of living hell as glory days. Honestly, you couldn't go to the bathroom without asking permission, you couldn't eat or drink in class, and you had to be bored out of your mind for a large part of the day (well, that last part sounds like a lot of people jobs but we'll ignore that). If those days are your glory days, I think your life needs to be reevaluated.

What are your thoughts on this? If you're out of high school, do you miss it? How does this compare to how you felt about it when you were still in school? If those weren't your glory days, what was? If you're still in high school, do you think you're living the best part of your life as we speak?

[GhostBat]

High school was certainly not the glory days for me. Middle and high school are such an awkward time in anyone's life that I can't imagine anyone looking back at that time fondly.

My best school days ever were in elementary school. I had little responsibility, tons of sleepovers and pool parties, and recess.

I'm about to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in a little over a month, and this time of my life definitely rivals my elementary school days. I'll be moving into an apartment with my husband (love you Chriz!), making a home together, and planning our lives. Sure there's responsibility, but that's part of growing up and making your ideal life. You don't have that choice as a kid!

As long as you're under 18, you're still the property of your parents. The life they decide for you is the one you're stuck living. You can't vote, own property, sign legal documents, etc. How is that the glory days?

[Klark]

I beg to differ but that is perhaps because my life was a little different. With my father passing away when I was 11, and my mother getting arrested when I was 13, I ended up spending my days in high school primarily in charge of myself. I lived with guardians, but their rules consisted of 1) Not dying and 2) Go To School.

I was jock and a geek, and I went to a small school with only about 28 of us in the class. I was fairly popular in school and I was well-liked. I did get into quite a bit of fights, but that's expected in such a small setting.

I actually do miss high school. I miss the friendships and the dances. As a journalist, I don't have time to make a lot of new friendships outside the occupation. Primarily because in my town, drugs are huge and you never know who's in them, so you keep your nose clean by sticking to yourself.

I wouldn't necessarily call my high school days the "glory days" but they were certainly what I'd call the "good ol' days."

[Chriz]

High school was by no means my glory days.

Life gets better all the time.

[Binkx]

If the definition of glory changed to "constant angst and frequent battles with ones self worth" then by all means it was glory filled.

[GhostBat]

High school was by no means my glory days.

The mullet was pretty glorious. :p

[Xavious]

Come June of this year I'll have been out of high school for two years. I have mixed feelings of my time there. On one hand, I loathed the place for how horrid the administration and level of sanitation was. Only a few of the teachers genuinely seemed to care about what they were teaching and putting things into a perspective that made the subject both understandable and fun. Also during those four years the administration was in constant flux with different head and vice principals with each 'regime' worse than the last. By the time I was in my senior year, the head principal was a guy who bore an uncanny resemblance to Santa Claus (it didn't help either when he wore a Santa hat around Christmas) and ran the place like a prison during lock-down. If we were to use the bathroom the student had to be escorted or attempt to go during the class change (during which the teachers stood vigilant outside their rooms). An ineffective lunch schedule which was also in constant revision lead to the cafeteria being overcrowded to the point where quite a few ate on the floor in the corners just to have some room and eat. Which was, by the way, unacceptable for the administration because they could get in trouble for that and so we were either forced to stand during our entire meal or they would usher us off to sit in any one of the vacant seats amongst a group of complete strangers.

The sanitation was, as stated, at exceptionally low levels. At one point, a pile of vomitus was left upon the sidewalk for two days before being cleaned. During this same year I contracted both staph infection and blood poisoning merely from using the restroom. In short, the place was filthy.

*/rant*

On the other hand though, I loved the place for the people I was in contact with. I had an eclectic group of friends in high school, about half of which I haven't seen since. We all knew the place was garbage and it was a sort of camaraderie that got us through the place. At one point some of us protested the increasingly strict policies by getting badges bearing the school name as if it were a prison. Ultimately it had no effect on the school changing its policies but it was still a fun ordeal. :p

Also, the teachers that did take the effort to make learning fun and engaging for the class was worthwhile as well. I'll never forget how my chem teacher demonstrated Gay-Lussac's Law (as temperature of a gas increases so does its pressure) when he made a methanol cannon and fired it at the class. Nor will I forget the time he explained ionic reactions in aqueous solutions through a bit of a juggling act where he constantly the color, viscosity, and amount of precipitate through addition of other compounds or heating up the resulting compound.

The only school-sponsored-paid-by-student-event that I'll look back on with fond memories is the Senior Trip to Disney World. For three days the part of the senior class went down to Disney World for their Grad Nite event. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grad_Nite) The utter insanity of things that went on during that trip, such as a friend who threw various random items into the ceiling fan of our hotel room, same friend awkwardly running into people in the park, riding Thunder Mountain thirteen times in a row, prank phone calls to our other roommates who were expecting other people to call them, and similar nonsense makes the trip my greatest memory of the high school era.

All in all, I wouldn't say my high school years were my glory days nor will they ever be close to such, although I have to admit it did have its rather awesome moments.

[kathryn]

I was jock and a geek

Isn't that an oxymoron?

Laughs aside, I miss high school. I wouldn't call it glory days, but the school were I graduated from was such a total 180 from the school before that, it was more of a blessing than anything else. I was extremely bullied and depressed in middle school (who wasn't? But let me say, I had it much worse than the majority), with no friends. In high school, I moved to another state after my parent's divourced, which was no cup of tea, but it was the best thing that ever happened to me in my teenage years.

I had friends, I had teachers who actually cared if someone was bullied, and blessed be, I didn't have to call anyone Sir or Ma'am anymore. (THANK GOD, I hate those words) My grades went down the tubes, I almost didn't graduate on time, and I lied to everyone about what I was doing instead of doing homework, but it was still very good. Yes, I miss it since I moved away from my friends, my first girl crush, and my favorite teachers, but those years also gave me good memories.

[DarkHunter]

I think the people that really emphasize high school as being their "glory days" are the kind of people that don't have much else to show in their lives.

There are things to miss and I'm not going to act like high school was this completely horrible time. Some things were nice. But overall, I've moved onto better things and I'd rather enjoy the present than some idealized past.

[Sinanju]

I think people hit their "peaks" at different stages in their life. For a high school football player thats certainly glory days.

High school was pretty shitty imho, but what I will admit is that I met the best friends of my life there out of necessity. I've never come close to the bonds shared during that time, and it feels like as I get older, friends tend to be more and more superficial. Alot of us were really idealistic and dreamers in high school and that faded once you start working 40 hours while juggling college.

[hookedoncandycanes]

The idea of high school is a nice one but almost redundant. The way we act in high school is so immature mostly I think because we're about to become adults and we think that we know a lot more than we actually do.

At lunch yesterday I was sitting with the dean of my college, a professor, and another student discussing this very same topic with them. Obviously I'm in college and it's been almost 2 years since high school and I can say with the widest, most relieved grin that I'm so glad that high school is over...and that I will never have to return.

In high school everyone is trying to figure out who they are. They're cruel and mean or nice and kind but it's all a show because no one really want's the other person to know that they don't know who they are. I have to admit that I was one of those kids. I totally faked it all through high school and I hate that I did. But it's a transitional phase, a required phase, so I shouldn't look too down upon it.

It teach you out to cope I think...but only after you've left the "perfect" world of high school to realize that people aren't all faux nice to just because you're a kid. When you have to take care of yourself because literally you don't have anyone else to take care of you. That's when those coping skills come into play, for the majority of us, that makes our high school days worth their aggravating requirement.

I agree with Chriz. Life get's better all the time. To have freedom to take care of yourself and make your own decisions is a quite liberating and uplifting feeling.

All in all, :beerchug:: cheers to the glorious fact that yes, high school is over! :D

-hoc²

[Vendetta]

High school was by no means my glory days.

Life gets better all the time.
I totally agree with this.

Also, there is nothing quite like walking into a candy shop and telling the kids looking around in wide-eyed wonder: "I could buy ALL of this!"

High school was pretty shitty imho, but what I will admit is that I met the best friends of my life there out of necessity. I've never come close to the bonds shared during that time, and it feels like as I get older, friends tend to be more and more superficial. Alot of us were really idealistic and dreamers in high school and that faded once you start working 40 hours while juggling college.
I don't know if people are more superficial per se, I think it's basically like you described: you become friends with people in HS a lot of times out of necessity or a strong shared experience. I figure a lot of it is a defense mechanism to deal with the crap that tends to go down during those years.

Although now looking back, I only have one or two people from that HS group that I'm still really friends with (or have reconnected with.) What really amazed me was when I found old HS friends again (through stuff like FB) I discovered a lot of them had drastically changed, to the point that I don't think I can really relate to them anymore.

[Lau]

you start worrying about the glory days you kinda cast a dim light on what's ahead of you don't you?

Personally I fell into the misfit category, not all that popular and I was bored out of my mind half the time. I learned how to 'deal' with those unsavory people one of those social 'defensive mechanisms' I learned a great deal made some friends and enemies hated alot of it while I was there.

Not exactly my glory days pretty much the opposite but I can say one thing for sure I wouldn't be who I am today without that personal hell...And let me tell you I like me:D a wee bit crazy but I still love it.

[Klark]

Isn't that an oxymoron?

What'd you call me? :D

Yes, yes it is, but that was my life in high school. By the time 11th grade rolled around, I had hit my growth spurt and became something of a huge person in my class. I used it to my advantage on the football field, but I also assumed a bully role in school. However, I didn't bully the weak geeks. I bullied the bullies. :cool:

[Tempest]

I feel the same in regards to high school friends versus current friends. I had a 3 good friends in high school. They were in different grades than me, but man we were inseparable outside of school. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it), college happened and all of us have changed. Like V said, I don't think I can even relate to them anymore.

I've yet to find such good friends since then. Most friends I have now don't reciprocate the level of honesty and respect that I do. I agree that they're superficial: I haven't found many other people that I can fully trust with everything in my life and who will be there for me when I need them. It's pretty sad how life separates us from one another.

That's the only thing I miss about high school and it didn't even happen during school hours since I barely saw any of them during the day. I can't consider anything that I've lived my "glory days" thus far, although if anything comes close, it's what I'm living right now. Who knows what I'll say in another year after I graduate though.

[DarkWolf]

Forgive typos I don,t have a computer'only my PS3 and using a tiny keyboard is not easy.

High School was nothing. learned a few things which have not helped me at all since and some things were useful but already knew them because high school was slow and studying extra stuff on my own. Some teachers were patronising and some were decent. Had a few friends but only one of which still in contact with and is my best friend.

High scool were not my glory days but some aspects I miss. I miss the simplicity and creativity and the feedom to have time for anything and almost no responsibilities. I miss te health and if ever did get sick I could just take a few days and get better. And I miss my family. (ok I as a word will now be lowrcase because i will be using it often and it takes three finger movements to make a capiital letter)

Back then we had family days and get togethers and even the family black sheep, my aunt, was a little bit odd but still a nice person who you could trust. Happiness and halth and an easy life which had challenges to keep things interesting and fulfilling. I miss the times.

And now? im always confused and always sick and always tired and always working in a job i dont like just so i pay all my wges on bills. Im almost always sick because im always rundown and cannot take time to get well without losing said job and cannot afford to lose job. I have no free time because im always working and too tired and sick when im not. i hardly ever see my family aside from my brother because aunts and uncles have moved on with their own lives, my father abandoned us, and my mother died because a hospitakl could not be bothered to keep an eye on her after surgery. A surgery that was necessary only because some druggies could not keep their fists to themselves. And that black sheep aunt ended up being a psycho who tried to kill her dad for reasons still nknown and has since lied again and again even about me and mum and my brother.

Im in love but hate that I am because it means loving somebody i cant be with and only of being with them will take years and i really do not know if i can keep fighting for so long.

Everything is complicated. I have lost all sense of motivation and creativity and most of my family and am so confused at loving somebody even when that relationship is causing extreme amounts of emotioal pain.


High school was not a time i can call glorius, but it really was the happiest time of my life. I need to re-evealuate my life. But i dont have time do so. I know I will someday and I know life can hold wonderous things for me and I will get to experience them. Its just right now it seems a long way off and I'm already fed up with waiting.

[Vendetta]

Can we get ages along with posts? Because really, if you're under 25, you're really too young to have "glory days".

[Klark]

I be 29. My 10 year reunion was held in May 2008.

[Vendetta]

I be 29. My 10 year reunion was held in May 2008.
My 20th was just last year. It was terrible, and the people there were (still) terrible (except for the girl I went with, an old flame of mine, who is still pretty awesome.)

[8puıɯʞɹɐp8]

School is just another way for people to control other people. In fact its the main way, were taught from extremely young age that we should obey and do what were told.

Brain washing is all it is.

Then they start throwing medication at kids to make them obey. I don't belive in ADD, maybe seven year old little boys arent meant to sit in chairs and scratch on paper all day. Maybe they where meant to be outside, hunting or gathering or something.

Life is all jacked up.

Obey

[LV426]

School is just another way for people to control other people. In fact its the main way, were taught from extremely young age that we should obey and do what were told.

Brain washing is all it is.

Then they start throwing medication at kids to make them obey. I don't belive in ADD, maybe seven year old little boys arent meant to sit in chairs and scratch on paper all day. Maybe they where meant to be outside, hunting or gathering or something.

Life is all jacked up.

Obey

Make sure your tinfoil hat is on securely. You wouldn't want to lose it.

[Caladhiel]

I'm not sure I'd call them glory days but I do look back on them with more fondness than I ever thought possible back then. After the years start to go by the ugly parts of it get duller and all the immature antics myself and my friends got up to shine a little brighter. Moreso still when my current responsibilities start to feel more terrifying than exciting...

[Sinanju]

School is just another way for people to control other people. In fact its the main way, were taught from extremely young age that we should obey and do what were told.

Brain washing is all it is.

Then they start throwing medication at kids to make them obey. I don't belive in ADD, maybe seven year old little boys arent meant to sit in chairs and scratch on paper all day. Maybe they where meant to be outside, hunting or gathering or something.

Life is all jacked up.

Obey

kill John Lennon. KILL JOHN LENNON

[MetaKittie]

I don't feel I'm living the best days of my life. I have anxiety attacks left and right, and the huge workload doesn't help. If these are my glory days, I want a refund!

Either way, life in high school has been lax. I don't get in much trouble anymore, people don't mess with me, and I'm soon out of high school. The only problem I have is the intense workload of honors courses and the eight hours wasted five times a week in classes that I can sleep in and pass.

See, I'm lucky. High school for me ends May 28th, I'll be starting college June 1st in a program thats pretty rare. I'm the first person to ever go through it! So I'll be moved to a local community college to get my high school diploma. Pretty good, right? I'm excited and so happy to leave high school.

I wouldn't repeat it for anything.

[Vaultdweller]

Honestly, I don't know where people get off filling children's minds with all of this rot about how everyone's high school career will the highlight of their entire lives. It seems to me that most people feel like they didn't really start to live until they graduated. For all of the folks out there who really believe that they had seen the best of times during their public education, I can only hope that the nostalgia provided by drunken recollections and old vinyl collections is enough to keep them going.

My personal experience in HS wasn't as bad as it could have been, but I've certainly been happier now that I'm out.

[Vampirelordx]

Still in school, and I can say that since next year is my senior year,i really have mixed feelings about high school. I live In a school district where the majority of the student body have a maturity problem not to mention a lot of kids are smoking the green stuff. While there are some good things about it like my friends being there, and some of the teachers are pretty cool, I have to say I'll be rather glad when I'm off to collage after this final year.

[Tempest]

not to mention a lot of kids are smoking the green stuff.

Hmm, what's wrong with that? :p You'll find all those things at college too; I hope you realize that. People (unfortunately) don't grow up overnight, so college is filled with immature morons just like high school is. The only difference is that there's even easier access to alcohol. I'm not arguing that college isn't better than high school, because it IS, but it's not a fantastical world either. But yeah, immaturity and stupidity exist at frightening levels even outside of school.

[Sinanju]

Hmm, what's wrong with that? :p You'll find all those things at college too

weed in college???? Surely you JEST

[WhiteCrowNZ]

I always like what Madness said about school days in "Baggy Trousers" ...

Oh what fun we had
But at the time it seemed so sad
All I learned at school
Was how to bend, not break the rules