In elementary school, one of my good friends was very, very much like me. We both loved to read, were both considered “gifted,” and spent a whole lot of time together doing the same things. Now, in high school, she’s one of those people considered a “nerd” and I’m not.
I suppose I could be called a B or B-, but my friend, S, would be a D.
I think there are a few different reasons for this. First of all (and I am not trying to sound snobby here), I’m considered pretty good-looking. I’m generally described as “hot.” My friend, S, is not. And, unfortuneately, looks go a long way in our terribly shallow world.
Also, I’m a very outgoing person. If I walk into a room and there’s no one there that I know, I will go and start introducing myself to people. I’m friendly, and I also flirt a lot. S is the opposite. She’s incredibly shy. If you were to walk into a room, she would be the one sitting in the back of the room reading a book and interacting with no one.
My looks and outgoing personality got me pretty far. However, I’m really not the average teenager. I don’t associate with kids only in my own “class.” I’m friendly to the nerds, I’m friendly to the learning-disabled kids, as well as others who could be considered “below” me. I openly tell those people that are mean to make fun of people “below” them that they are being terribly cruel and shouldn’t do that.
Now comes the question as to why I am as I am. Why am I not a cruel teenager just like so many others? My guess is that I’ve had to suffer through the torments of my peers in the past. Back in elementary school, I had a really rough time. My best friend of many years suddenly turned on me, and she and a whole group of other girls were very, very mean to me. To a child, this is absolutely devastating. However, in retrospect, I’m almost glad that this happened because it has given me sympathy for others in similar situations, and I think therefore that it has made me a better person.
I definately agree with this. I hate being unchallenged; I think I’m probably one of the only students my teachers ever hear complain about not being challenged enough. The only way to keep from going insane with all this is to do logic problems and stuff like that to keep my brain working.
I’m glad you posted this article, fighting ignorant. It really helped put things in perspective for me, as a highschool student. I never really thought of school as a place where they stick us because they have nothing else to do with us.
~monica