Being forced to clean out your childhood room is a sure fire way to discover cringe-worthy items that make you question whether your teenage years were actually just a mild form of torture.
Prime example: high school journals.
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Your eyes do not deceive you. This freshman year journal does ineed have BSB on the cover. Holla! |
Let me dazzle you with some excerpts from the life and times of a 14-16 year old Alex. These were shared with my Fab Four girls over a bottle of Moscato, and let me tell you, the Moscato was a necessary choice.
[Names have been changed to celebrity monikers to protect the innocent]
"I AM THE CLASS PRESIDENT!!! I BEAT THE POPULAR KIDS!!!"
"And when I stand near him, he stares at me. Maybe he thinks I'm pretty just like I think he's hot. Yeah, Matthew Morrison is so hot."
"Info on Matthew Morrison:..." [and I proceeded to list out every bit of information that I had stalkerishly obtained about him].
"Yesterday Maegan and I devised code names for Matthew Morrison and Michael Vartan: the marmoset and the polar bear, respectively." [don't lie, you know you had nicknames for guys in high school]
"Sooo yesterday I did something totally out of character for me. I cassually said hi to a guy I like. Oh my gosh." [OH MY GOD, REALLY???]
"Well, the marmoset spoke to me. Guess what he said?? 'EXCUSE ME.' AAAHHH!!" [don't worry, I know how pathetic this is]
"Marmoset stepped on my shoe on Monday." [shoot me now]
Maybe there's an entry in which I cut out a picture of the "polar bear" into the shape of a heart and taped it in my journal. Maybe.
"All of my friends are silly like me, but this is my less 'dirty' group." [this is incredibly ironic to me today, seeing as how I sometimes have the humor of a 14 year old boy]
"I can't stop thinking about him. Every thought I have is of Michael Vartan." [I crushed real hard, y'all]
"The Marmoset is now the Baboon. Someone said his nickname too loudly when he was close by."
"I've decided that I want to go to Yale and major in film studies." [HA!]
"Ugh, Nic Cage has been giving me the most masturbatory looks. I"m afraid he's gonna ask me out again. Geez." [yeah, I described looks as masturbatory. Points for me.]
"The lifeguard is really hot. He was squirting us with water guns. He's really hot. Ha. I said that once." [I was so eloquent]
And then there are many pages dedicated to the crush I had on Ronnie's now fiance [yep] and how irritated I was when it became obvious that he was totally in love with her. So in a round about way, I am reponsible for their engagement. We can't help but laugh at this 8 years later.
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Actual journal page. This is pretty quality, as it both laments having an unintelligent Chemistry lab partner AND has a drawing of a squirrel. You wish you could have been my friend in high school. |
So after perusing those little gems, please join me in a big ol' "WHAT THE HELL?!"
First of all, can we say boy crazy much?? But mine was a dangerous combination: boy crazy yet boy INEPT.
Don't worry, one of those celebrities up there [who also had an animal nickname] went on to be a boyfriend for a couple of years. So I guess I eventually did develop [novice] flirting skills.
Second, I cannot get over how incredibly immature I was. I know I was just a freshman/sophomore in high school, but man. What makes me laugh is that I thought I was so cool, sophisticated, and mature. But I'm pretty sure someone possessing those qualities would not excitedly write about a boy she had NEVER TALKED TO stepping on her shoe at school. Shit.
Third, thank GOD the friends I talk about/experience my embarrassing life with in these journals are still my best friends today. They loved me as a dork and they love me now [still a dork, let's be honest].
Finally, as horrifying as some of these finds were, I can't help but miss the SIMPLICITY of those times. Sure, I may have thought that having a huge crush on a guy who barely knew I existed was a big damn deal and would probably damage me for life. False. 15 year old Alex, there is much worse out there. I think we can all appreciate the carefree ways and lack of responsiblity those early years in high school brought.
What I have learned:
I'm still weird.
I still can't flirt to save my life, so thank goodness I don't have to.
I still give people nicknames.
I still stalkerishly obtain information about people if necessary.
High school journals, thanks for the laugh. And for showing me that in the end, I think I turned out just fine.