I have been thinking a lot about my high school days. I had a conversation with my 16 year old niece a few days ago and I have been thinking about my high school experience ever since. I hated high school. HATED it. The only good part of it was I was with Brandon but even that was very difficult at times.
I remember for my 16th Birthday my 'friends' threw me a 'surprise' birthday party. We ended up going to some kids house that I didn't even know and just hanging out. Gradually, everyone started to disappear into another room. I was the last one to go in there and when I opened up the door, they were all smoking marijuana! I was never into drugs. Ever. They never interested me in the least. I remember I was so scared and asked at the time my 'best' friend to leave with me but she wanted to stay cause we were with a lot of 'popular' people. She was one of those people who would dump you in a heart beat for the next coolest person. Yeah, I choose good friends. Ugh. Anyway, I didn't want to stay in that kind of environment so I borrowed a girls keys and drove to my neighbors. He followed me back so I could return the car. I knocked on the window to get their attention to give back the keys and the mom or dad can't remember now, opened the window and yelled at me. I told them I was just returning some keys so I gave it to them and ran to my neighbors car and took off. I was so worried that the parent would go downstairs and catch everyone doing drugs so I was panicking all night. I didn't want to get anyone in to trouble I was just trying to get out of there.
The next Monday at school, the group that was there that night cornered me and started screaming at me. Telling me they were going to kick my butt and calling me a whore and all sorts of hateful things. Even my 'best friend' was in with them. I was scared for my life cause I knew the girl who did the most screaming had a rep for getting into fights. If it was her and I, I could have taken her but her and about 10 others?? My chances weren't as good. I kept apologizing to them but they wouldn't listen. After that my life became hell at Davis High. They spread such horrible nasty rumors about me so soon I was a loner. No one wanted to be my friend. They only person I had was Brandon. I was so confused how everything got that way. I got called a bunch of nasty names because I chose not to do drugs. That is something I have never understood to this day. **Sigh** I started ditching school so I wouldn't have to be threatened on a daily basis or be called horrible names.
When grades came out I was failing every single class. No surprise there. My mom talked to me and told me I was going to have to go to an alternative school because if I stayed at Davis I wouldn't graduate. The school I went to was Canyon Heights. It use to be for the young teens that got pregnant but the year I started turned it into an alternative school. I loved it! People there were not nearly as judgemental nor were they all about what car you drove, what clothes you wear, etc. For the first time I actually liked school. I did extra credit to make up for my 2 years at Davis that I failed and turned my grades completely around. I ended up getting a 3.95 GPA! I even talked at the graduation! I am grateful for the opportunity I had to go there. I loved the people I met and the things I learned. It helped me get through those challenging high school situations. I see my niece going through a lot of the things I did and I don't envy her. I would never go back to high school. That is something I am glad to be done with.
Its funny though, with facebook and the blogging world I have come to find a lot of the people I knew in high school. It makes me wonder why I never hung out with them. Maybe my high school days wouldn't have been so awful. It was my bad choice in friends though. Life can be funny at times. Like I said, I am glad those days are done.
5 comments:
i had no idea any of that was going on. i too HATED high school and I even switched to Layton my senior year and it was WONDERFUL. i've also wondered through blogging why i wasn't friends with some of these people :) So glad we all grew up. I've been remembering a lot too now that I'm in the young women.... I would NEVER want to go back
I wasn't the greatest friend.. As you most likely remember. High school wasn't my scene, my friends were my scene. I didn't know you even left Davis, it was that big of a school. What a great story though.. I'm proud of you for walking away, at the expense of your standards. If I had the courage to make such a decision at that age.. wow. Lets just say I didn't. I was quite the follower.
I'm so sorry we didn't stay friends into high school! I think you did the best possible thing that you could in that situation. I didn't know any of this. I was a loser too though. I didn't ever hang out with anyone and was just waiting to graduate. I couldn't wait to get out!! I think a lot of my friends started doing drugs in high school too. Probably why I was a loser and just hung out with my boyfriend too. I also worked a lot so maybe that was another thing. Anyway, you turned out an amazing person in spite of all that stuff :) Good thing we don't have to do high school again!
What an amazing story, Sheena! I'm so glad you got out of there and stayed strong.
My sophomore year I was in with the Cross Country crowd. My best friend was LDS but not very strong and she loved the Mexicans on the team. They were two years older and drinkers. They didn't really drink around us, but they listened to bad music and stuff like that. I like them, but I felt uncomfortable. During the summer we went to Education Week at BYU and the classes were so amazing. While we were there we were staying with my grandma and my friend stayed out late on a payphone talking to her boyfriend and then meeting some other guys. My grandma was beside herself. Also, after some of the AMAZING classes we attended I was SO uplifted and felt so wonderful, and on our way to the next class all my friend did was give people dirty looks and tell me how lame people's clothes or hair were. I was a little shocked. I knew she was negative and critical, but right after such a neat talk!?! She stayed up listening to music and never read scriptures or prayed (not the hugest sin for a teenager, but I realized we were very different). I determined after that that I should not be her friend. She was bringing me down. Soon after we had a campout and a girl from another ward befriended me and listened to my story. She and her Mormon friends took me into their group and they were amazing. I felt bad for my other friend because she sort of became a loner, but we invited her to sit with us at lunch etc. She just didn't feel comfortable. But I am grateful my last two years of HS were so wonderful and fun. My friends were a blast and we were all strong together. I ended up loving high school, where before I felt uncomfortable and out of place.
Sheena, why were we not better friends in high school?!!! Seriously! I really wish we were. We were friends in junior high, I don't know what happened! And I don't know what is wrong with high schoolers. I am so glad I am done with that part of my life, too. I cannot believe that happened with your friends! I knew you went to Canyon Heights. My friend Leslie went there too. I always thought so highly of you, and I always wanted to be better friends. Maybe I was too shy. I didn't hear any of those nasty rumors, though, and if I did, I would have been so mad at whoever started them. Some people can be so mean. So not cool. Good thing we are done with all of that crap!! And now your life is just beautiful. ;)
Post a Comment