High school was far from fun, to say the least. I was being academically challenged to the point of frustration. Move after move after move put me behind everyone else so much that I felt stupid and embarrassed. The teaching only made matters worse. My teachers who were also coaches did not have the skills to educate me. This made learning all the more difficult and more frustrating. I asked for help so much, and never received it, so finally when it was offered it was too late.

Walking down the halls, I saw clique after clique but did not have one to claim as my own. Jocks. Geeks. Stuck ups. Brainiacs. Not one of them could I walk up to and feel like I belonged. I didn’t even have someone I could call a best friend. I hung out with the upper and lower classes and even had a few close friends but never a best friend. I played in band and was even a cheerleader. Being able to cheer at all the games was probably my favorite part of high school. But like at every high school, drugs, alcohol, partying, and immaturity played a part. Many incidents happened during those four years that I wish never happened. One specific experience I remember was when something tragic happened to two boys at my school. They were best friends and decided to mess around with a gun. One of the boys ended up shooting his best friend on accident. Although I have regrets about my high school years, it was nothing in comparison to the boy who shot his best friend.

My school was one of the only schools who still had the Maypole dance. I decided to run for Maypole Queen because nobody had asked me to go with them. I didn’t want to seem like a nobody. I ended up winning and became Maypole Queen. It was extremely boring, but better than going to the dance alone. At the end of my senior year, I was nominated as the prettiest girl out of my grade. It was flattering at the time, but I now know that there wasn’t any reason to have gotten excited about it, because it was just my classmates voting.

Now that I’ve matured and know the things I do now, I wish my parents would have been more involved in my life and would have shown me a little more guidance. However, I would never want to re-live high school...ever. I look back at high school with regret instead of fondness. Although it's not an ideal memory, I’d much rather stick with it than have the chance to go back and do it all over again.