I was having a moment this morning while I was working out. All in all it was pretty wierd. I think it was because, having a moment to think while I’m focused on working out and while I have a movie blasting (which I always do) just seems unlikely. That is too many things that just require my attention. On the other-hand, maybe that’s the best moment to have some retrospection.
I was thinking back on my teenage years, more specifically my high school years. To me, these were some good years. For a long time I thought of these as some of the best of my life but then again, I’ve had some other good times too so maybe they weren’t the best but they were good. Maybe more accurately, they were the defining years of my life.
In high school, I was many things at least as I remember it.
I was a geek in an old school way because this was quite a bit before computers so being a geek meant that I was smart – among the top of my class in many subjects (not all cause there were subjects I didn’t find interesting but most). Being a geek also meant being into technology in general, even “nerdy” stuff.
One of the nerdy things I did was be a member of the audio visual club. This gave me access to technologies that were very new such as VCR’s which homes didn’t have yet and video cameras which normal people definitely didn’t have. We video taped sporting events for the sports teams. This also helped me know the sports teams.
Being smart meant taking AP courses and enrolling in college prep courses so I was around a lot of other smart people. One of the best times was in my Chemistry class where 3 other guys (2 were on the basketball team) and I were always lab partners and we just had fun doing all the labs and experiments. This class is what motivated me to go on to get a BS in Chemistry.
Via my friends in Chemistry and via my contacts through the AV club and also due to the fact that I had some surprising physical strength, I had a pretty friendly relationship with many football players and basketball players (these were our 2 major sports at the school).
I was also a member of our local Church teen choir and many of my friends from that were members of the various musical programs at school. I even was in one of the high school talent programs on year with one friend (it was very embarrassing).
I guess my retrospection was probably about what I was watching on TV. It was a teen angst movie which shows that all the different factions at high school are separate and very alienated. My high school life was very different than most of these movies show and in fact nearly polar opposite. It’s not to say there weren’t soap opera moments but it’s not the movies where jocks pound geeks.
Just some thoughts.