Alchemist Gaiden Pt. 2 (The High School Years)

I’ve waited some time write about high school, mainly because I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about it. Like many people have experienced, high school wasn’t necessarily the most enjoyable four years of life for me. Of the people I’ve asked, including both people who went to my high school and other schools, the consensus was that it was OK. It had its high and low points like anything else, but it was overall pretty decent. These people look back fondly on the four years. I respectfully disagree with the consensus. Although I agree that it was decent to a point, it also left a pretty bad taste in my mouth, and I still have no idea why. I figure that writing it out would help me figure out the reason(s), so bear with me.

Moving from my predominantly black elementary/junior high school of 9 years to a predominantly white school in a new city was not easy. The fact that it was an all boy school didn’t exactly help either. Parents laud the concept of same sex schools because they think it helps the students focus solely on studies. This is true to a point; but little do they know that all it does is prevent the opposite sex from physically being there. This does not change the fact that a horny high school boy will do what it takes to get his. One can argue that this drive can actually hinder him because the boy is taking time out of his studies to find girls to associate with, much to the detriment of his grades.

But lucky me, the high school was one of the best in the city (with tuition higher than some four year colleges; f**k me was it high), so this wasn’t too big of an issue. Imagine being the smartest kid in your school to being near the bottom in another. When you’re surrounded by overachievers with college aspirations by the time they were in 6th grade, this is what happens. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it’s just different. Now picture being one of maybe three black guys in a class. Again, this isn’t the worst thing in the world, but I’m coming from a place where I’m the majority, so this was an adjustment. What was interesting is that all the black people hung out together, so I self-segregated myself in a sense. It’s what I knew, it’s what I was comfortable with.

So to sum it up, I was a black guy used to a certain way of schooling for 9 years that moved to an all boy school in a new environment where almost everybody was different and smarter than you, all while dealing with normal teenage hormonal issues. I’ll be the first to admit that this isn’t horrible. In fact, all of it is good. I’ll also admit that I did make some good friends during my time there. And being around people that smart makes you smarter as well (I can confidently say I worked harder in high school than I did in college). But even after writing this out, my strong dislike of high school remains. However, I think I have an idea why.

Maybe it was the fact my experience was what I made it to be. Maybe I hated it because I know that I could place as much blame on myself as I do the school. I definitely could have made more friends, experienced other things, and generally just enjoyed it more, but there was no way in hell I would’ve chosen to do that those years of my life. I can say, however, that I’m content with the way things turned out. I made sure that I wouldn’t make those same mistakes again.

Not again, not during the college years…