Who were you in high school?

[sierra]

I?m triggering myself by recalling but I was a chubby emo Mexican kid. I never talked. Zero friends. Zilch. And my teachers and principles thought I was on drugs.
That was just my untreated mental illness dog

The bullying was frequent, mama. I never stood up for myself? Which is so sadgirl TM but i was literally just too shy and quiet. I think that?s why I may be seen as mean now. These days when people disrespect me, I go for the jugular. Which in a lot of cases, is a wild over reaction and really not in alignment with who I really am. It just takes me back to all the times I never said anything so I over correct, but letting things change me isn?t winning. I have to work on that.


I?ve glowed up a lot since hs. In many ways! I?m with a great person, I?m working in therapy, much more self aware which is the key ingredient to an decent person. Most importantly; no more side swoop.


Who were you and how has it shaped you to who you are now?

 

[SheepMareep]

In hs I was very quiet and alienated myself constantly like if I started getting close to people I'd slowly vanish into the background lmao. Which was easy bc I'm short so
I had a lot of unchecked anger and stress since my dad didnt believe in therapy or mental illness so my first year I would get really overwhelmed and start screaming at people.

In my sophomore year I became that "feminist no guns stop being aholes" girl and yeah.
Would finish all my work for math classes(class work and homework) for a week in one class period so teachers always had me helping teach everyone when they got overwhelmed by no one listening or ppl would just always ask me to help lol. Was top 5 in the class though so that's cool. Was still rlly emo tho. Senior year I finally accepted I wasnt straight and dyed my hair pink

I dealt with a lot of abuse at home so honestly I dont remember much about hs diebusndkdnsjaha the "cool" kids from my school spread a rumor about me in college that I was a witch who put bad spells on people to make them fail so... that was a thing? Idk where that came from so I guess I was rude to them in hs lmao

Now I'm not in the abusive situation anymore I was able to become way more outgoing, happy, and independent. Going on 5 years with my first boyfriend who I currently live with (we also have 2 dogs hell yea)

I managed to make more strong friendships than I had in hs and was able to go to therapy for a bit (darn you insurance!) To learn more coping strategies and talk about everything I went through

Very driven and actually excited about life now so yay c: was so focused on getting out in hs it payed off

 

[sierra]

In hs I was very quiet and alienated myself constantly like if I started getting close to people I'd slowly vanish into the background lmao. Which was easy bc I'm short so
I had a lot of unchecked anger and stress since my dad didnt believe in therapy or mental illness so my first year I would get really overwhelmed and start screaming at people.

In my sophomore year I became that "feminist no guns stop being aholes" girl and yeah.
Would finish all my work for math classes(class work and homework) for a week in one class period so teachers always had me helping teach everyone when they got overwhelmed by no one listening or ppl would just always ask me to help lol. Was top 5 in the class though so that's cool. Was still rlly emo tho. Senior year I finally accepted I wasnt straight and dyed my hair pink

I dealt with a lot of abuse at home so honestly I dont remember much about hs diebusndkdnsjaha the "cool" kids from my school spread a rumor about me in college that I was a witch who put bad spells on people to make them fail so... that was a thing? Idk where that came from so I guess I was rude to them in hs lmao

Now I'm not in the abusive situation anymore I was able to become way more outgoing, happy, and independent. Going on 5 years with my first boyfriend who I currently live with (we also have 2 dogs hell yea)

I managed to make more strong friendships than I had in hs and was able to go to therapy for a bit (darn you insurance!) To learn more coping strategies and talk about everything I went through

Very driven and actually excited about life now so yay c: was so focused on getting out in hs it payed off

Lol we’re the same person
shortly after high school I became a “blue hair”


I’m loving your evolution

 

[Alienfish]

basically some 80s synth later punk girl turning into some 70s "progg" girl along the way being riot lol

 

[SheepMareep]

Lol we’re the same person
shortly after high school I became a “blue hair”


I’m loving your evolution

xD if you dont dye your hair after hs did you even grow

 

[Mayor Monday]

I was the weirdo homeschooled kid shrouded in mystery. I'd disappear after events and was never seen in the same place again.

I wouldn't say I 'made friends'- I just didn't try- but I didn't shy away from meeting new people. I eventually started talking with adults more than teenagers. I got a little sick of people asking me if I'd ever considered going to traditional school and if I played a sport. The high school in my area casts a large, 'what's your status' shadow.

When I was with other kids, they'd often ask what being homeschooled was like. I got along with them just fine because I was an outgoing moron who made too many snarky jokes.

So yeah... I don't the term for my 'high school identity', but this is how it went when I actually left the house for social situations. lol

 

[Flyffel]

This manifests itself as quite a philosophical question to me because how am I supposed to define who I was in high school? I don't even know if it's a fixed thing who I was as I can't have the full information about it in multiple senses. Firstly because I can't remember it in detail, secondly because I can't possibly know what the true context was (who "are"/"were" the people there etc.). In some years I might think of it differently than today.

But I can try to list things that seem true and hard to deny to me and interpret the past based on my memory. (lol sorry if that comes off as pretentious but it's hard to define)

I was a good student, I was probably the best in-school friend of the best student of the entire school* (who was my classmate). We talked quite frequently in school but I think we never did anything outside of it...

I went to the local Pok?mon club where people played the TCG and video games. That was my favourite part of the week and I made good friends there. I have always made my best friends through bonding through Pok?mon. It stands true to this day. Go figure.

I sometimes went to the boardgame club that was held by our math teacher. On some breaks I played games in the computer room like other guys.

I was wearing glasses (I switched to contacts after high school) and had bad fashion sense. It's not like I didn't care at all, I did have a "unique" fashion sense, but now I rate it as bad! LMAO

In general I was friendly with lots of people but true "friends" with few. I don't think that has changed.

(I was bullied as the new kid in class after moving for two years before high school but not in high school.)

I was a part of the elected body of students that organized some events for the students.

Oh, I was part of the high school newspaper club, but I think that I never contributed much at all. I think I only wrote like one article in two years. Oops.

I was very active on forums and I was a moderator/admin on most of them. Also active on IRC (think early Internet Discord if you don't know it).

I feel like I haven't fundamentally changed much since. I've just gained some more life experience/perspective/knowledge. I still think that I'm a decently mature kid, just like I thought I was when I was in high school.

* I think he always only got the best grade except maybe in subjects like music, he proceeded to graduate with only the best grades in the final tests and got lots of stipendia and he has done impressive research in - iirc - quantum physics since then. I don't wanna make this about him but I felt that I had to justify a bold statement like that he was the "best student"...

 

[RedTropicalPeachyFish]

I was A++ student in terms of studying. Any nasty classmate boys would never call me by name casually (like hey Eri/Rina/etc.) instead they'd call me with "Miss". TA type of girl. Later I got kicked out due to 'bad things' I made. They were so-called prep school where only boys/girls who have wealthy/high status/famous family. I managed to go there, but I lost my patron because I would always be stuck with the street gang ish boy who I was head over heels at the time, even not going to school.
Due to this incident I changed the school after getting scholarship and I was a working HS student to afford on my own. Where I lived in was Tokyo at the time and pay in rent there was so expensive. I would of course need foods, clothes, meds and books, along with paying bills for water, gas, etc. So I started a part-time job at club kind of thing where I was supposed to wear bikini, swinging on high-heels to serve drinks to our customer. Tips they'd slick inbetween my boobs were big part of my income. The owner of the club was 25 years old woman and she gave me a special support. After years I left this job when I had some savings to go to university.
I had been a loner that way. I did have a lot of friends, but I didn't feel any of them actually know me, except for the ones I each time fell for and a girl who was my classmate in first school and I've been still friends with.
The life like that maybe affected me in some way. I'm a loner. And I'm a hard working person in terms of work, and laid-back in everything else.

 

[Dinosaurz]

Had a horrible time in secondary school, my anxiety got so much worse and it was a boarding school that I went to from Monday-Friday so it made my anxiety so much worse and I hated every second. Plus I was “bullied” a bit by the other kids they’d call me names a lot so I had 0 friends.
Eventually I just stopped going because it was too difficult to learn because of my attention issues and the anxiety.
Nobody rlly cared about helping my anxiety my dad just wanted me to be at school to get rid of me so he could lay on the sofa all day while he doesn’t work because he has to look after me even tho I’m not even home L O L

 

[deerteeth]

I was a selective mute and, admittedly, not a very good student. I slept through most of my classes, especially when I turned 18 and they could no longer legally contact my parents. I went to a Catholic high school despite not being Catholic (it was closest to my house and the nicest option in my area), so we had a uniform, which I'm grateful for because when I entered high school, I was a scene kid and dressed myself badly.

I was just quiet and anxious and floated through high school waiting for it to be over because I really dislike school. There were a couple rumors circulating about me too but I never figured out what they were, I never spoke to anybody outside of my best friend and boyfriend (both from middle school) so I'm certain the rumours (whatever they were) were not true as there would be no way for anyone to know anything about me.

 

[Dim]

"The Quiet Kid" or "Oh looks it's a (Last Name)" otherwise I was just Chris. High School wasn't as bad as Middle School for me

 

[Kaiaa]

In high school I was the mom friend. I loved everyone and stood up for anyone being bullied. I had friends from the ?outcasts? to the ?popular? and everyone in between. I even ran Anime Club for a few years so that people could hang out after school. I taught Japanese during Anime Club too lol Looking back I had a wonderful high school experience and I continue to try and make people feel good! I?m always here to talk if anyone needs me

 

[KazooSquirrel]

Due to my lovely home life, I was an angry goth girl. Not a cute little emo or punk rock kid. Full on black hair, black trenchcoat, spiked collar and black fingerless gloves goth.

Until I was abandoned and homeless by 16. Then wore what I could, slept where I could, worked 3 jobs under a false address to afford what I needed to finish high school.

At first I bounced through a few schools because I had to move on to a new area, but my senior year I was able to get into an alternate high school to finish. Some people I knew a bit let me sleep on their closed in porch at night so I could be near the school to walk.

Graduated at 17, finally at 18 I was able to get an apartment because I was legally an adult. At 19 I met and married my husband, and have been married to him for the last 13 years. :3

My high school life was....not typical....but that's who I was in high school. *shrug*

 

[John Wick]

The class clown.

 

[Maiana]

Currently still in high school but I'll be graduating in 3 months.
Looking back, I'd say I was a people pleaser. At the beginning, I tried to fit into every crowd because I did not want to feel alone at school. Now, I'm pretty "popular", but I get along with everyone. I'm not afraid to call people out on idiocy and I really have no filter lol.

 

[zato]

i was the one weird shy kid who would befriend anyone who would speak to me. until the verbal/mental/some physical abuse started. teachers told me i was stupid, that i wouldn't achieve anything i wanted, i got held back for learning issues (i'm dyslexic with numbers and B's and D's and i spell phonetically. the only subject i was ever bad at was math and spelling, when i was tested i was above average in reading and comprehension), told me my art was awful or not worthy of being hung in the hall with the rest of the class, kids told me to kill myself, and some people i thought were friends even hit me where they knew marks wouldn't be seen. it was hell until i met my best friend and actually got a few teachers who told me i was smart, worthy, and helped me figure out new ways of learning things i didn't get. though that was short lived sadly as i only had them for a year but they made a big impact.

i've changed alot since then, became more weary of who i trust though i am getting better and working on that, i'm still working on my confidence and back bone but being held down your whole life will kinda mess ya up, even though my depression is genetic it's gotten better, i'm more positive now and try to see the good in things, i'm a bit less shy from working in retail, i still don't handle confrontation or yelling well at all i shut down and just retreat like a scared animal and avoid it at all cost, i over think things so much more now and i really shouldn't, i still jump at loud bangs and panic if i mess something up, and i get lonely a lot easier now that my friends/not blood family moved but it's not too bad as we all still talk/text/snail mail everyday. i'm glad i have them.

 

[Romaki]

I was the bullied kid and it messed me up mentally permanently. But to be fair I really didn't take the steps necessary to better my situation, like if anyone here has the same experience right now please do talk to a teacher and join groups outside your class or even your school and you'll see that the idiots in your class don't rule the world.

 

[cIementine]

for the first half, i very much kept to myself and my small circle of friends and didn't bother branching out to others. in the last couple of years (sixth form in the uk), i've kept that group of friends but also made many more from different friendship groups, probably due to everyone maturing past the clique, keep to yourself mentality, taking fewer classes so everyone has formed tight-knit friendships within the three subjects they each take, and people having more diverse lives (e.g i've made friends with the people i also work with at my part-time job, and people i see a lot at parties and on nights out). though i've always been perceived as quiet, very academic and into fashion. i still am reserved, but so much more confident than in my early teens, so i come across as less shy and more assured.

 

[allainah]

I actually only did 2 weeks of 9th grade then dropped out of high-school b.c of my social anxiety.
I was basically mute in 8th grade it was horrible, i was super into the scene & emo styles but i don't think anyone really cared about that tbh? I Just got made fun of for being "the girl who never talks" that's literally what people called me lol. I tried to switch my style to be super girly in 9th grade hoping i would just magically become some normal high-school girl but nope i still didn't talk and no one was interested in me so i was like iiight bye.

if anyone cares 2 kno more;
i got my GED and started college classes at 19, also i cried my first day of classes! ;3 cute huh, an adult crying about school. Then I finally saw a psychiatrist for my issue and got medicated and did better. moved to ohio and they dont prescribe ... CRAP up there so it got bad again. came back to FL and i'm slowly getting on my medications again but still struggling. Like today i skipped my 2nd class because i felt like i had a stomach bug, but as soon as i went home it was gone... - w -"

 

[KazooSquirrel]

I actually only did 2 weeks of 9th grade then dropped out of high-school b.c of my social anxiety.
I was basically mute in 8th grade it was horrible, i was super into the scene & emo styles but i don't think anyone really cared about that tbh? I Just got made fun of for being "the girl who never talks" that's literally what people called me lol. I tried to switch my style to be super girly in 9th grade hoping i would just magically become some normal high-school girl but nope i still didn't talk and no one was interested in me so i was like iiight bye.

if anyone cares 2 kno more;
i got my GED and started college classes at 19, also i cried my first day of classes! ;3 cute huh, an adult crying about school. Then I finally saw a psychiatrist for my issue and got medicated and did better. moved to ohio and they dont prescribe ... CRAP up there so it got bad again. came back to FL and i'm slowly getting on my medications again but still struggling. Like today i skipped my 2nd class because i felt like i had a stomach bug, but as soon as i went home it was gone... - w -"

Anxiety is a real struggle. Good on you that you keep on trying!