That thing in high school

Note to Self:

That thing that happened in high school really did change your life forever.

I've been trying to be better at blogging. You know, more than one post every couple of months . . . But I'm busy and when I have the time, I usually just draw a blank! So I googled for ideas of what to blog about (like any good blogger does). I found a great list of "50 Things to Blog About." The first thing on the list was:

That thing that happened in high school that changed your life forever.

So, that's exactly what I'm going to write about!

High school wasn't really anything special for me. I had some amazing friends, but I was mostly just shy. I went to some dances. I took AP classes, but certainly not more than my other classmates. I did take hip hop and social dance classes and performed . . . I even have recordings of them! But you'll never see those . . . because I sucked haha.

Honestly, most of high school is just a small little blip of my life.

So what was that thing that happened that changed my life?

That thing was moving into the new building that had been built for us.

Most of my high school experience was around construction. They had plans to build a new school on the other side of the block and began working on tearing down the current building my first year there.

Oh the joys of construction . . .

The smells.

The sounds.

But it was OK because they were building us a new school. Everybody loves new, shiny buildings.

The timeline was never really set in stone (as most construction work appears to be). We were told that we would be the last ones to graduate from the old school. Then we were told we would be the first to graduate from the new school. All the while, the building was slowly being put together. Eventually, most of us assumed the building wouldn't be completed until the summer after we graduated.

Then our administration had BIG NEWS for us . . . we would be moving into the new building in April. Just about two months before graduation. About a month before all of our AP tests and other final testing. And the faculty would have to move their things to the new building over spring break. What GREAT news . . .

And that's exactly what happened. We were uprooted and relocated right during the stress of the end of the school year. The best part was the school had not been completed. A lot of equipment was not available to use yet. The construction was now going on all around us instead of a few hundred yards away. There were hundreds of "bugs" that hadn't even been contemplated yet.

But, sure . . . moving sounded like the best plan. *sarcasm*

Now, before you get all up in my face about this, I know that there are political and other factors that went into this decision that were out of the administration's control. I understood it then and I certainly understand it now. However, that knowledge did not help the situation or change my actions.

You might be wondering how a silly move "changed my life forever." I'm about to get to that :)

You see, I was quite upset. Besides the fact that it was the end of the semester and there were problems and we were all stressed . . . it bothered me that I wouldn't get to graduate from the school that I had been attending for the last three years. So many emotions and memories were attached to that school and I wouldn't be able to walk through on the last day of my senior year to remember it all. As I said, I was upset.

And I did things I never thought I would be brave enough to do.

I emailed the superintendent trying to get an interview to find out information. I made my opinion widely known. I wrote my satire paper for AP Lit on the move and presented it to my class. I wrote a poem about the move and had it published in the school's literary arts magazine. And, on the first day in the new building, I wore this shirt:

 

I received a lot of hate for my opinions. People accused me of not knowing what I was talking about and being a spoiled brat. I received quite a few hateful comments and messages. I had SBO's tell me to stop disrespecting them and the other administrators (of course non of the things I did affected them directly). I received glares from administrators (to which I simply smiled).

But I also received support. From friends and family and even teachers who agreed that the decision to move before the end of the year was not a good one. They loved my satire and my poem. Some gave me thumbs up for my shirt. Man, I love some of those teachers.

For the first time in my life I really stood up for something, over and over again. I held my ground and made my opinion known all the way till the end. I wore a t-shirt that called a ton of attention to myself (something that I HATE), and I did it to prove that I had a voice. I did it to prove that it's OK to have an opinion in high school even if you aren't a cheerleader or an SBO. I did it to prove to myself that I was brave enough to stand up for myself and what I believe or feel.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what changed my life forever.

I've drawn on the confidence that I gained in those last few months of high school, over and over again. I still falter. I still get scared and stay quiet. But I know that I can look back on this and tell myself,

"Hey, you did that and you survived. You are stronger than you realize. You can stand up for anything."

I know this example might seem odd or even silly to many of you. And that's OK. What matters is the lesson I learned and the confidence I gained. It truly changed my life!


Do YOU have a thing that happened in high school that changed your life forever? I'd LOVE to hear about it! And maybe even have you write a guest post for my blog! Comment or message me :)