Was your High School a good or bad experience?

[Gregg]

My wife just had a reunion and had a blast. Her high school experience was very good.

My sister has never and would never attend a reunion as her experience was not good. When brought up still has some pain.

Mine was very good. I think it was a very positive influence on my socially, not so much academically. It did leave some scars, but overall very good. It did not prepare me to use college as a tool to realize a career of my desire.

[B-Fly]

A mix. I had mostly great teachers and a small group of very good friends, but the social dynamics and anxieties of the larger high school experience were often painful. I do think I was pretty well prepared for college, career and citizenship. And I did choose to move back to my hometown to raise my kids there and send them to the same public schools/high school.

[revo]

My problem was my parents moved around a bit around the time of my junior high and high school years, and unfortunately, they didn't really take into account my experiences in their moves. For example, I lived in one section of Brooklyn, but we moved away when I was in 6th grade and then moved back when I was in 9th, but to another section of Brooklyn not too far away -- and zoned for a different HS then where all my elementary school friends were. Why they didn't think about that minor issue is beyond me.

So anyway, I went to a HS where I didn't really know anyone and all my friends went to a rival HS. While it wasn't bad, I didn't really participate in any activities and didn't make any meaningful lasting friendships. If I had gone to the other HS with my friends, I'm positive it would have been a much better experience.

I made up for it in college where I vowed I would get the full experience, and I did.

[hacko]

I had pretty much a good experience in HS. I was a tweener kid. Played sports but also did choir,band and plays. So I connected to all the groups. I was lucky that when I was a Freshman my sister was a senior so for the most part I was off limits to the Hazing most Freshman got . My brother was a year younger so I got to know a lot of people from that class through him.

I go to most reunions and we have a pretty hard core group of people that do the same and have always enjoyed them. Stay in touch with a lot of classmates through FB.

[TranaGreg]

Yeah, for the most part pretty positive. I didn't stay in touch with anyone tho, beyond a couple of years after & never had an interest in reunions. FWIW, my wife also describes her high school experience as awful tho.

[Judge Jude]

I have a twin brother, and had a core of neighborhood kids who went to the public high school (we went to the regional Catholic school). so I already had a firm base of social support and didn't actually need more from high school.

but I figured out how to navigate the murky waters. I remember as a freshman, I was the class clown in a laid-back 5th period English class every day - and then a church mouse, like the rest, in my 6th-period Social Studies class. I was comfortable with that. had plenty of HS friends.

there's an old saying about how if you look across the poker table looking for the sucker, and don't see one - then the sucker is you.

HS seemed brutally like that - if you don't see who are the other kids who are going to be bullied, you will be one. I just avoided the field of battle, and escaped unscathed.

have I ever been to a reunion? no. got my honorable discharge and moved on.

[umjewman]

Other than the whole cancer thing taking up half of freshman and half of sophomore year, it was pretty good. I still have my core group of friends and I enjoyed my 10 year reunion.

[Fresno Bob]

I met my current best friend at high school orientation and had a fucking blast in high school. Still close friends with a bunch of my high school buddies since 40 of us went to UC Berkeley together

[DMT]

I loathed the Catholic all-boys school itself, but I had a lot of fun and still keep in contact with my main group of friends. And the preparation helped me get into an "elite" university.

[heyelander]

I went to a different school every year from 5th through 10th grade. Did do the same school from 10th through 12th though. I have no idea what a good experience would be. I fit into the orbit of most groups but wasn't a big part of any of them. I was also small up until 11th grade. Even then I was still lithe (hard to imagine now). So I wasn't an athlete or anything. I wouldn't say it was good, I spent most of my time jyst trying to fit in and get along with poor to moderate results. In a lot of ways in still that kid.

[baldgriff]

Interesting question!

High School was for lack of a better term - awkward. While I was a leader in the areas that I participated in, I honestly never felt comfortable in my own skin. I also never had to study in classes. Honestly, I hardly ever did homework and if it wasnt for one bad class would have graduated with honors. I never learned to "study" or read the text, which made the rest of my schooling frankly unsuccessful.