Confession #27 I Actually Liked High School

Or at least I thought I did.

The other night, my husband and I had a great conversation about what we were like as teenagers. I decided that had we met in high school, nothing would have happened between us. We were SO different. We each had to do a lot of growing before it would work out between us.

In high school, I wasn't the most social person in our school, and I prefered to hang out with my family on the weekends mostly. I had a great group of friends, though. We didn't do much on the weekends, but we went to lunch together almost every day (we had an open campus) either at some fun place or at one of our houses. We talked a lot and we were involved in mostly the same extra curricular activities. As far as sporting events, I went to the football games, but that was because I was in the band. My "groupies" were not in the band. I never felt like high school was terrible...I had no enemies, I had friends, and I had fun. I still keep in touch with many of my high school friends, although, as with most high school friends, not to the extent I thought I would. And, I also got decent grades. Okay...very good grades. I seemed to have it all. Saying all that...I have NEVER wanted to go back to high school.

My husband, on the other hand, had very different experience. He was, self-admittedly, a nerd in high school. He had only a couple of friends and their idea of fun was to do their calculus homework together. He doesn't keep in touch with any of them. Peter was also not involved in many extra curricular activities. I think he was in the chess club for one semester and in one of their school plays as a chorus person. He quit both of those because they infringed on his study time.

As we were talking about our experiences in high school, I realized that despite the fact that I had fun in high school and I thought I liked who I was back then, I knew absolutely nothing. I was your typical self-absorbed teenager who thought only of herself. I felt like I deserved everything just for being me. I was mouthy to my parents. I told a few "white lies" that I shouldn't have. I thought I knew exactly what I wanted in life.

During this conversation, I realized that high school was not as great as I thought it was. I have learned so much since then. I have found parts of me that I never knew existed. For example, I never knew that I had such and intense love for cooking back then. I never knew that I had the ability to be friends with others who walked such different paths than I did. I never knew that I had a place in my heart for abused women and children and that it could take up so much space in my heart. I did always know that more than anything, I wanted to be a mom, but I never knew what joy could fill your heart just watching your two little boys giggle together over some private joke. I never knew that I was attractive to someone. I never knew that I enjoyed doing things that "Holly Homemaker" would do...cooking, cleaning, organizing, baking bread, quilting, card making, etc.

So, did I like high school? Yes I did. Was it wonderful? No it wasn't. Would I go back? Nope. Am I glad to be where I am today? Yup. Do I hope to know even more about myself 10, 20, 30, or even 50 years down the road? Sure thing. But as with high school, while I'm living it, I can like it!

Go class of 1996!