Could you make it through High School today?

[UsandThem]

For me there was no sex (other than masturbation) or drugs. AFAIK, there were no drugs at my high school at that time. Rock and roll was something I heard on the radio, there was no going to shows scenes that I knew about in high school. I tended by high school to consort with people who were destined for higher education, by and large the smartest AFAIK.

I didn't have the best home situation, or live in the best areas. The schools always had drugs/alcohol available, and there was usually daily fights and other issues.

I really didn't think I'd ever get out the situation I was in, so I kind of lived the "I don't give a fuck" lifestyle and doing whatever I wanted for the most part. I made a lot of really bad decisions, and had a bunch of really close calls in some pretty messed up situations.

 

[Ajay]

I didn't have the best home situation, or live in the best areas. The schools always had drugs/alcohol available, and there was usually daily fights and other issues.

I really didn't think I'd ever get out the situation I was in, so I kind of lived the "I don't give a fuck" lifestyle and doing whatever I wanted for the most part. I made a lot of really bad decisions, and had a bunch of really close calls in some pretty messed up situations.

That really sucks. Glad you made a good life for yourself (best I can tell) - aside from freaking clown collections

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

I don't remember bullies at my high school. Maybe it was the people I interacted with. In junior high school there were definitely people you hoped you never met or consorted with. They were kids who didn't want to be there, there were juvenile delinquent types. Before junior high, I went to a school where the kids were pretty behaved, as I recall. Myself, I was well behaved in school, always. Breaking shit was out of the question. There were some teachers who worked better for me than others, some were kind of frightening. I didn't get involved with them personally for the most part, in the least.

Where did you go to HS? From my understanding, basically every public school in America has bullies, and if you weren't bullied you either a) were a bully, b) were popular and didn't realize it, or c) were in some kind of sportsball that mostly shielded you from the non-sports bullies. In addition, bullies tended to interact with you, not the other way around

That may not be applicable everywhere though I guess.

 

[Muse]

Where did you go to HS? From my understanding, basically every public school in America has bullies, and if you weren't bullied you either a) were a bully, b) were popular and didn't realize it, or c) were in some kind of sportsball that mostly shielded you from the non-sports bullies. In addition, bullies tended to interact with you, not the other way around

That may not be applicable everywhere though I guess.

Grew up in West Los Angeles, went to Alexander Hamilton High School. Junior high was different, there were scary people, gang people who were beyond rebellious, they were menacing, at least that's how I perceived some of the kids there. But I don't remember any of that at my high school. Granted, my focus was prep for university, meaning first of all getting good enough grades to be accepted, which I was, at the only U I applied to, the same one that my brother had graduated from, UC Berkeley. I don't recall any bullying at all. And no, I don't remember being bullied except for one time and this was early in grade school, could have been anywhere from kindergarten to 4th grade, I guess, but I'm pretty sure it was very early on. Some kid got behind me and crouched and another pushed me over him and I fell to the ground, of course. Other than that one moment, I remember nobody bullying me, but as I say, junior high was a scary place and I navigated the yards and corridors accordingly.

 

[pmv]

Make it through as a mid age dude? make it through as my teenager self 30yrs into the future? Make it through as a teenager with the mind of mid age dude?

Yes, the question is kind-of under-specified. There are at least three completely different interpretations of it.

Different answers would apply to each. In the first case it's a clear 'no', as if I tried I'd be ejected, and possibly subject to an unpleasant line of questioning by the police.

In the second, I'd also say 'no', because the existence of social media and cameraphones would make all the things that were traumatic the first time round a billion times worse.

The third is a thought both fun and too damn weird, in equal measure.

 

[UsandThem]

That really sucks. Glad you made a good life for yourself (best I can tell) - aside from freaking clown collections

It was tough, but one day I realized I didn't want to be a deadbeat my whole life, so I began to at least cut down on the stupid shit somewhat, and do something productive with my life.

I'll never be a CEO of a fortune 500 company or any other kind of being "king shit", but I've been married for 21+ years and we still enjoy being with each other, I eventually went to college at night and got a bachelors degree, and both of my kids are in college and doing well (one in engineering, and one in computer science).

If anything, our kids have a lot better shot at being successful in life than I did coming out of my teenage years since they aren't starting so far behind the starting line. I'm very content with my life (and Pennywise toys).