i did.
That said, i don't think i would do again... it was sort of a once in a lifetime experience.
This week, my wife through casual conversation with someone she works with realized that this same person had attended the same High school she did and graduated one year after her. This caused my wife to begin looking through her old yearbooks and reflecting back on what for many of us is a critical time in our lives. She remembers High school being "okay" for the most part. She also recognizes that had she remained in the town that she went to high school in her life would have more than likely have been very different and probably not for the better.
i think for me as i think back, i made the most of the experience. NO, i was not one of those guys who partied and/or behaved poorly but if there were activities to be part of, athletics to excel in, i would do it! There were the typically type of things that most guys in high school worry about, girls, looks, popularity... did i mention girls? However, in the midst of my high school experience the thing that made a real difference for me, something that helped me keep it all in perspective was my involvement with my church youth group.
It's really weird and sort of hard to explain but being part of a youth group and knowing that kids from my youth group were around me at school during the day was a significant deal. i knew people were watching out for me and they were also keeping me accountable. If i acted like a jerk on the football team or on the track team or in the high school choir, they wouldn't let me get away with it. That was in many ways what kept me in line. It is also what helped me enjoy the experience of High school but also keep it all in proper perspective.
Don't misunderstand as i look back there more than few times when others properly identified me as smart mouthed jerk, in spite of my youth group connections. But all in all, my high school days were truly enjoyable. There was also a part of me that realized that it was a special time and i needed to enjoy it but there would be many more very special days to come... even when my days in high school came to an end.
What about you.......
3 comments:
I can't call high school the "best days" of my life...I like to think my best days are ahead....inner-city school with drugs, gambling, guns, knives and kids getting "jumped" made going to school a surreal-like experience....barred windows and metal detectors gave school sort of a "prison-like" feel alot days...strangely enough I am not bitter about the experience because it did instill a fear of "failure" that probably motivates me today....who knows, different school, different person....
My high school experience was one colored with divorce, single parent dating experiences, etc. Most of all, I was just trying to find myself and to make sense of the lack of sense in my life. I found myself outside of every circle, feeling as if I was from another world. They were definitely not the best days. My best days are now-a-days, when I have choices. My hope is that my children will enjoy their high school lives and find out who they are before they tangle with the adult world.
This is great info to know.
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