A CLASS REUNION--I"D RATHER STICK NEEDLES IN MY EYE!!!!

Ok big shot. You put high school behind you and become tremendously successful and have a life that Donald Trump would envy. You have the spouse that causes a fair amount of rubber-necking and your kids/pets are stellar. Good for you. Because one day there will be a letter in your mailbox that will bring you to your knees. It will look innocent enough. But we guarantee that this one will stop you dead in your tracks.

No, it’s not the IRS audit for your private jet. It’s the invitation to your class reunion. And it’s a bitch. All of a sudden your entire high school history will come flying through your head. And no matter how successful you are now you will start to panic. Should I ? Shouldn’t I? Do I have time to loose 20 pounds/have plastic surgery/buy a new sports car?. It’s Oh my God. And just to make it even more fun once they’ve found you you’ll get another and another….every 5-10 years.

Of course, there’s the brave front that everyone puts on. Avoiding the “oh my God, what happened to you?” Or the equally disturbing.” Wasn’t she the girl that picked her nose? Wow…now she’s a babe.” Of course you’ll drink too much, say many inappropriate things and try way to hard to hook up with your high school crush. It’s not pretty.

 

Do you dread your high school reunion? I don;t really have to worry about that one since I was

an Air Force brat and have no idea where my friends from Upper Heyford High School in

England ended up. That takes the pressure off ...right? I imagine for some it's a great revenge

scenerio and for others a bitter sweet moment. Tell me what you think.  

BULLIES THEN AND NOW!!!!

There's so much talk about bullies today. But think back. There were just as
many bullies in high school then as there are now. They may not have the
added weapons of twitter, facebook and the Interne, but they existed.

Not all bullies in high school were 230 lbs and gave a mean purple nurple, some
wore pink and smelled like heaven-on-earth. But whether they were petite or
amazons...bullies were the curse of high school.If you've ever been humiliated
by wearing the wrong shoes or a dress that they let everyone knew your Mom made,
then you know the power of the bully.

Whether they were the big lugs that could break your neck or the mean girls that
could break your spirit, they were a force to be reckoned with..

And they still are. Mean girls grow up to be mean women. Its those bitches at the
kid's schools and the workplace that you have to watch out for. It's no easy trick to
catch them They come in different sizes and shapes, driving Escalades and pimping
out cupcakes, leaving your kid out of parties and grabbing the choice assignments
at work.  But all bullies show their true hands eventually. And fortunately
for us, karma is indeed, a bitch.

 

 

WERE YOU A GEEK IN HIGH SCHOOL?

Is there anything more heartbreaking than seeing a lonely figure in the middle
of a hormone smorgasbord? High school was a bitch if you care and you weren't included
...especially if your fellow classmates called you a nerd. Today it's hip to call yourself a
nerd. Sort of an endearing come-on that says I'm real....I'm smart..look at Bill Gates.

But that's now. Being a loser was rough .People were mean. there was little or no regard
at all for anyones's feelings. After all teenagers have the compassion and manners of
neanderthals. No one was out to look after anyone else's feelings. If you could dart under
the radar, that was the best you could hope for. There are urban legends about teenagers
who went out of their way to be nice to the new girl or boy  (especially if they were hot.) But
we all know that didn't happen very often. There's a pecking order...a food chain, if you
will, and we all knew our place. If you are at the bottom of the food chain each day was a
hellish marathon of self-preservation. The good news was that losers often become winner
and the nerds can easily take the world by storm. Do they ever forgive and forget. Doubt it
We are all, after all, just mortals. Hats off to the success stories....nice to know there's still
some magic to go around.

 

WHERE HAVE ALL THE PROM QUEENS GONE?

DO YOU EVER REALLY LEAVE HIGH SCHOOL?

Did you sit at the cool kids table in high school surrounded by the popular kids?…or did
you sit alone wondering when the prom queen or hunky jock was finally going to recognize
you? You have to admit you knew exactly who you were in high school. You knew your
place. High School for many was the equivalent to sticking a knitting needle in your eye
socket and going to bed with a migraine. New studies from Rutgers indicate that high school
is indeed a sadistic institution which shapes us forever. Was it?

We all know that maneuvering within the social confines of a high school society is a little like penetrating a secret cult. Chances are that prom queen never did see beyond the metal mouth
and the slight brush of acne. The question I pose is this….do you ever leave high school? Are
you doomed for a life of quite desperation and acceptance… or a life of “what-the-hell-is-wrong
-with-these-people….I was in the popular clique?”

I’ve been asking this question for years and have gotten the most incredible answers. Some
people are true professional successes who never feel good enough and others are still
waiting for life to hand them the prizes they feel entitled to.  High School is pretty much
a common experience. But can you leave it behind and get on with your life? I thought I
did. I loved high school until my Air Force dad brought us from England to the Bible Belt.
So I can see both sides.

I began researching high school several years ago with my former CNN colleague and good
friend Joanne Lechleiter. We took a survey and took a look at the common groups and
experiences we had in the sixties and seventies. You know, the cheerleaders, the jocks,
the bad boys, the bandies….and of course, the prom queens. We were so fascinated we wrote a screenplay...with the obvious title Where Have All the prom Queens gone.

So brush off those tiaras and football trophies , clarinets and leather jackets. Class is in
Session .This is your time. I will be blogging a weeks worth of high school.So please
send me your horror stories, your tears, your wtf moments.