Highschool Yearbooks And Me

I was in the eye doctors office recently, and I saw that as reading material in the waiting area there were several Mount Vernon High School yearbooks. I had read some of them before, because my sister, who graduated form Mount Vernon, had of course received several. But this time the experience was slightly different. It was a portal to a different time. People I know that are know about to graduate from college, I now see them when they were the same age of me. It's weird. Yet I know that I will never have the same experience, because I won't have a highschool yearbook. Instead, I will be forced to make my memories be the substitute for a hardcover book filled with pictures. Or is it the other way around? Are those books actually a substitute for memories, in case they are forgotten?

But then this got me thinking about highschool. I am, as you surely know, a junior. In two years I will be in college. By all accounts I should have this "teenage" thing down. And yet, I'm so unteenager like. Now I am not so proud that I don't recognize that this is actually quite common. There are thousands upon thousands of teenagers that are very similar to me. But what about the teenagers kept inside the pages of these yearbooks? How do I compare to them?

One of the sections which highlights several "trendy" things, such as shoes and scarves,  said "Trendiness is something of a priotey in today's world, especially in highschool.". If you know me at all, I am not at all trendy. I cannot tell you a single instance where I cared how I looked or smelled. Now this MIGHT be a reason that most people can only bare to socially interact with me over the internet, but I can't say for certain. I don't know, I see "trendy" things as kind of a waste of time. Style? I have none. This is partly because I'm a guy, but also partially because of my personalty.

And then there is the subject of money. Another section said "It's as though ever high school student has the same problem no matter who they are. They just don't have enough money to do the things that should be done in highschool". The section goes on to show pictures of students with 500 dollar guitars and 100 dollar shoes. I found this particularly humorous because in the same trip that we went to the eye doctor, we also went to the bank, And that morning I had decided to deposit 200 dollars in my college fund not because I was some super saver, but because the money was just lying around my room. My dresser, my desk, on top of some books, just lying around. Money from my birthday, various allowances from previous months, and dog sitting money. I could have used it on stuff if I wanted, but I could not think of anything that I especially wanted at the moment. Or anything I needed, anyway. Now this is not because I'm some self disciplined person (very far from that, actually) but because I'm so unteeneager like. As I thought about it, even though the section presented quite a few things that teens spend their money on, I had personally never spent money on any of the things. Not school lunches, pop, gas, make up (I hope not, anyway), cell phones athletic equipment, I just didn't use any of that stuff (except school lunches, but because they are usually leftovers I don't have to pay for them. And I guess I would have to pay for gas once I can drive). Now it is true that the reason for this is that I don't do a lot of *normal* teenager activities. Instead I stay home on the computer. It might be looked down upon by others, but it's cheap.

There was yet another section about things that a teen could not live without. I am pleased to say that I proved this incorrect, for I am still breathing. One line that particularly caught my section went like this "Not many students would be able to live without cell phones". In previous posts I've already vented about why I don't like cell phones, but as I kept on reading through quotes from students I became more and more depressed. Almost every quote about what a student needed to survive included cell phones. Really? Are they THAT important to you? Of course, if you asked me the same question regarding the internet, I would most likely do something incredibly violent. Good stuff.

And then there's prom. Now if you know me at all, you probably know that I refuse to abandon the thinking that girls have cooties. Yeah, typical homeschooler. Sorry about that. But because of that thinking, unless my values radically change in the two years I have left in highschool, I will never go to a prom, homecoming, or any other sort of "dance" thing. Not that I couldn't if I wanted to. The Marion Homeschool has several alternatives, and if I wished I could go to a school one if I went with someone I know who goes there. Now I'm not going to go into my anti-romance speech, but proms kind of seem childish to me. Eh. Besides, I hear that the only reason that most teenagers go anyway is for post prom. But still, I cannot stand the thought of dancing with a (gasp!) girl. I much prefer my broom. Some might think that I am joking, but anyone in the play knows otherwise. Seriously, it seems torturous,

So I've pretty accurately described why and how I am different from the average public schooled teenager. Now what is the point of all of this? Well, I'm beginning to wonder if there is one. This is kind of self centered, yes, I know. And I realize that very few people are the stereotypical teenager presented in those yearbooks. Also, many homeschoolers which are the people I hang out with the most, usually aren't stereotypical either. But, I wonder what sort of memories my highschool experiences will hold? Now that I have thoroughly presented how I am so radically different from the teenagers in those yearbooks, how can I know what the yearbook which will be my memories will be like? Life is weird. Also, this has nothing to do with anything, but as a side note I had to mention this. In some of the yearbooks whoever did the image editing did not know how to get rid of the background correctly for individual photos of people. 'Nuff said.