For Fun: High School -- What would you do different?

[chiqanita]

I came across my high school year books the other day and I went through all 4 of them. It was bitter-sweet mainly because I remember how painfully shy I was and because a handfull of friends have passed away.

I had lots of good friends but I didn't consider myself popular. I didn't get involved in much of anything, I was a "home-girl"...if I wasn't at school I was at home. It wasn't until my senior year that I started going to dances, football games, and club activities. I had fun. I had my first boyfriend when I turned 18 and ended up dating the class "casanova wannabe" who eventually broke my heart 4 years later. I hadn't noticed this before but one of my good friends (male) wrote how he had a crush on me. Funny thing is I had a crush on him, too but I was so shy. I turned red whenever the attention was directed at me. My girlfriends always teased me.

Anyway, what I would do differently if I could is NOT be so shy in high school, just enjoy myself...not be so serious. Don't get me wrong, I am happy now and definitely NOT shy. I was just reminiscing (sp?).

So, is there anything you would do differently if you had high school to do over again?

Thanks for humoring me and playing along.

[jenjenfirenjen]

Good thread. I would have not cared so much what other people thought, especially the popular crowd. I would have tried to march to the beat of my own drummer a little more. I would not think that I was fat...holy crap, I was thin and beautiful...I'd kill to be that thin again. And this isn't really a high school thing but I made the decision then so...I would have applied to a much better college out of state and broadened my horizons rather than going to the local university so that I could be with my high school boyfriend who I ended up dumping anyhow.

[megs4413]

Boy it seems like a lot of us have made the same mistakes....I would have gone to a different college as well instead of staying close to my high school sweetheart--even though we're married now!

I would also have been nicer to people. I hate thinking that there are people out there that don't like me because I was mean to them or acted like I was too good for them. I also would have done my homework and skipped less!!! My GPA could have been so much better, and then i wouldn't have as much in student loans (because of scholarships).

[ribbit1019]

Ditto about going to the wrong college because of my high school boyfriend. I was accepted to a better school and I wish I would have gone. Though as DH points out I wouldn't have met him, so it is a good trade. :)

I would have done a lot the same, however I never went long stretch without dating. Because of this I didn't take time to have close girlfriends, I did get to do this a lot more in college.

Christy
My Waterbabies
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[hez]

I cared what people thought, but in the end it didn't matter, ya' know? So maybe spending less time thinking about how dorky I was ;) I wish I'd gone to more dances-- I only went to a few, and didn't really let loose 'til college, where I went to formals like crazy.

I almost wish I'd gotten into more trouble, 'cause I think Payton will be able to sneak things by me. I'm sometimes too naive-- I'll have to hang out with some parents who were bad kids to learn a few of their tricks!

On the relationship front, I learned what I needed to from the HS boyfriends. So, I don't think I'd change that, except I wouldn't have kissed the boy down the street ;)

I got what I needed out of HS-- I went to a good college, got a good degree, have a good job, so I don't think I'd change the classes or anything. Just maybe have gotten more involved on a personal level instead of the laundry list of activities I didn't have time to give my heart & soul to. Does that make sense?

[Moneypenny]

On the one hand, I wish I hadn't wasted so much energy worrying about silly things (i.e. the big zit on my forehead that no one else really noticed, the fact that I couldn't get my jeans to roll tight enough at the ankle, etc), but on the other hand, I think it's a normal part of that stage of life to be obsessed with stuff like that and it's good that I can look back on it and think about what a waste it was, ya know?

Oh, and I shouldn't have dated Randy G. Yuck! x( What was I thinking?!
Susan
mama to my cutie pie, Avery
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[Puddy73]

> the fact that I couldn't get
>my jeans to roll tight enough at the ankle>

LOL!! I had totally forgotten about this. Thanks for the 80's flashback!

Jennifer
Mommy to Annabelle 9/08/03 & Finn 10/31/05

"If we couldn't laugh, we would all go insane." - Jimmy Buffett

[elliput]

Maybe it has been long enough since I was in high school (20 year reunion is this summer), that I really only remember the good stuff. Whatever regrets that I may have had at the time are so inconsequential now that I really can not think of anything that I would do different. Except maybe have kept in better touch with some friends, but that is really something I should have done differently *post* high school.

I participated in activities that I enjoyed, had friends that liked me for *me*, and made decent grades (okay maybe I could have actually studied ;-) ), but all in all, and for some reason which I can not explain, I wouldn't change a thing. (I really can't believe I just said that!)

[fortato]

I would probably not take typing... and I would have gotten into more extra curricular activities. I played softball for 4 years, (with Katie King...the Olympic Hockey Player!) but didn't do it in college.
I would definitely apply myself better- I would ask for help in math classes, stop screwing around in science.
Other than that, there's not much I would have changed... outside of not wearing "Harem Pants" and Cavaricci's, I.O.U. Sweatshirts, Vuarnet and Co-ED naked t-shirts...I wouldn't have invested any money in that crap either.

After High School- I would have nurtured my friendships better- not gotten into petty fights over guys and things like that. I miss my high school friends.

OH- and about that skank that won the Christmas Queen Pageant- I'd still be bitter. I guess I couldn't change that.

Kristen

[drsweetie]

I would not have dated the guys I dated, who were both possessive, manipulative losers.

Ellen

[kijip]

I would not be as mean as I tended to be.

[purpleeyes]

Just one thing-I would have said *yes* to a good friend of mine when he asked me on a date. Sounds simple, right? But to this day, I wonder how changing my answer could have changed a lot about my high school experience!
I think it would have made me less shy, more mature, more able to deal with relationships...I was kind of behind the curve when it came to those things!

I still wonder what happened to him...


Beth

[pb&j]

I would have skipped it. I went to a public high school for two years, and then a small alternative high school for two years. The alternative school was a much better fit for me - less structure, allowed me to do what I wanted academically, everybody was a bit of a misfit so we all fit in. But in 9th grade I had the opportunity to start a program that would have gotten me through high school and college in five years, and I sometimes wonder what would have happened had I done it. However, I had a great college experience, and can't imagine my life without it.


-Ry,
mom to Emma, stillborn 11/04/04
and Max, 01/05/06

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[mamato1]

Man, how much time do you have? I would change so much. I would worry less about popularity. I would have taken a more proactive course in grieving my father's death and treated my mother better. I would spend less time trying to impress my boyfriends. I would have pushed myself academically more.

There is so much more. High school was really pretty miserable for me and I do not have a lot of fond memories. NOw, college that is another story...wouldn't change a thing!!! :)
Chris

Mama to Brendan (aka Boomer) 01/04


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[amp]

>There is so much more. High school was really pretty
>miserable for me and I do not have a lot of fond memories.
>NOw, college that is another story...wouldn't change a
>thing!!! :)


Chris, I could say exactly the same thing!

[jbowman]

I think I would have tried harder in my math classes (read: try at all, LOL), and perhaps tried to get better grades in general, but that's about it.

I am still very close with so many of my friends from high school, and even married one of them. ;)

[hautemama15]

I probably wouldn't have quit cheerleading my Senior year. There were circumstances that made me feel I had to quit, which were legitimate to a 17 yr old, but I wish I hadn't done it. AND, I wish I hadn't transferred to a public school just to "be with my boyfriend" for a semester. I hated public school. So, I went back, ended up missing the deadline for getting my Senior picture in the yearbook, and my friends gave me the cold shoulder for a few weeks. It all worked out with my friends, but my picture never made it in the yearbook. That was kinda sad for me.

[mamato1]

Makes me long for a cold beer in Aggieville at K-State IYKWIM!!

Chris

Mama to Brendan (aka Boomer) 01/04


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[The Review Mommy]

I would change almost everything lol :) but I wouldn’t have the strength to do it all over again…even if you did pay me a million dollars! Being a teenage girl is a pretty painful experience!

First, I would have changed my elective classes. All of them were in ART (drawing, painting etc), I never bothered picking any other elective. I was extremely focused on my skill-thinking that this was what I wanted to do with my life. I took an advanced placement art class during my senior year and sent in what I thought to be one kick-ass portfolio to a good number of art colleges. I'm sorry to say that I was not accepted to a single one and that my dear portfolio received a C or satisfactory grade. I couldn’t help but look around me and realize the sort of people that made it into these great schools. They drew pictures of skulls and of big breasted women and of un-proportionate muscular men. Mostly “dark� and scary things from nightmares. And here I was sending in paintings of happy dreams and wonderful childhood memories-lol! :) I realized that even though I had a gift (and the brain) for art, I did not have the typical dark soul and heart of an artist. I was a romantic. I wore pink and “girly� things. I took ballet etc. and never wore my feelings as a clothing statement like colors and body piercing-I was shy and I always feared attention. I haven’t picked up a brush in years and I do not own a single gum eraser now. But the crazy thing is I don’t miss it. Even though it was my whole life at that time I see it now as some sort of a blessing that let me escape during those horrible teenage years.

I would have filled my electives with some domestic classes especially cooking, and definitely choir. I have been married for 5 yrs and still can’t physically sing in front of my husband. I just get embarrassed. I love being a wife and mother, this is my life calling.

I also would have loved to take ice skating lessons. I have some pretty white skates that I fooled around with a lot because it was too expensive for me to take lessons.

I would have searched for a tutor to help me with Math and Science. I was a mess when it came to it-I just didn’t have the brain. I couldn't ever seem to make things stick. I was definitely a romantic; not at all logical...I have changed much in this regard.

I would have been different with my family. I wish I hadn’t talked to my Mom and told her so much about my life. I was naive, and she was manipulative. I wish I wouldn’t have listened and done so many of the things she told me to do with my life. It always turned into a disaster…

Throughout HS I usually had one best girl friend that I would hang out with 24-7. I never had a group of friends. I also had two long boyfriend relationships. My girl friend would have gone through 6 guys before I broke up with one. I went to every prom but my senior year because my boyfriend at the time was in College and living in the Dominican Republic. My heart has excruciatingly broken a few times (the stories are crazy) but I never dumped anyone, they always dumped me. I’m glad I never ended up with any of them and that I now have my beautiful DH which makes life wonderful and so worth living. I could talk about him forever! :)

Rebekah

[bcafe]

I have the EXACT same answer as you. I had known this guy my whole life, and he asked me out, and I told him "we should remain friends or things would change". What was I thinking looking back.....he was/is so nice, good-looking, etc. Oh well, hindsight. Today he is an Interventional Cardiologist!:) We are still friends.

[babymama]

I have *great* high school memories. My school was big enough that there was sort of a group for everyone. I felt popular - not sure if I actually was. I'm still good friends with my core group of high school friends. We had so much fun in high school.

I had my first boyfriend my senior yr in high school. He drove a motorcycle and was a rebel.
I guess if I could go back in time and talk to that girl that I was then, I would tell her that that guy was a loser.

Oh, and i would not have permed my hair and teased it out as far as possible. I have some pretty embarrasing pics from that time period bc of that ridiculous hair do.

Now, if I could do college over again...I would do a lot of things differently. I would have dated more. I would choose not to be so serious and dark and uptight about problems in the world. I felt like the weight of the world and all it's problems were on my shoulders. I would have lightened up and enjoyed myseld more.

Lydia
Mama to Santiago, my 2 yr old monster
and new baby girl, Solana, born 12/26/05
I'll figure out how to update my avatar someday!