Do you guys know that Bowling for Soup song? It’s a pretty catchy song if you haven’t heard of it. It also makes some really good points. Which is a nice twist.
Here’ it is so you can listen:
Anyway, before we really get started here, I want to say that OF COURSE high school ends. And no one was happier about that than I. The day I graduated ranks in the top 5 days of my life. I hated high school. A lot. I couldn’t wait to leave and honestly, part of why I picked the college I did was because not many people from my school went there so the chances of running into anyone was slim. Just the way I liked and wanted it. I mean, it’s not that I went to a bad school. Quite the opposite. Learning wise, I know how great my high school was. But the people. Holy shit, the people. The atmosphere. The everything. Toxic to me. But I am a much better person because I both went there and I left.
So there’s that.
But back to the point.
In the aforementioned song, the band references the fact that they really haven’t changed much since high school. I agree with that. I mean, not for them because I don’t know them personally, but for me. Yes, I have changed–grown and matured and all that. But there are still a whole bunch of things about me that are exactly the same as when I was in high school. Things like:
- The music I listen to. I have always, always been a rock chick. It’s my go-to genre. In fact, as I type this I am listening to Shinedown radio on Spotify. Back then, it was more hairbands and Rush and classic rock. Guess what? Still love that stuff. Still listen to it frequently.
- How I spend my money. Nail polish, music, books, concerts, makeup. 1995-check. 2016-check.
- My love of drugstores. When I was in high school and wanted a break from homework or whatever, I’d drive to this enormous drugstore near my house. I’d browse all the aisles, looking at all the things and never leaving without buying something. As an adult? Same. And Ulta and Sephora are just larger extensions of drugstore makeup sections.
- Music and books over TV. To this day, I’d still rather listen to a playlist or the radio or read a book than turn on the TV. I never watched much TV as a kid and still don’t, despite what my binge watching habits might indicate. Fun fact: I do not have a TV in my bedroom and have no plans to put one in. Another fun fact: My husband hates this.
- My hatred of pants. The first thing I would do upon getting home from school, besides have a snack, was change out of my jeans and into comfy pants. Generally sweats that were 8 sizes too big. Nowadays it’s more yoga pants and I wear them 90% of the time because fuck real pants.
- Matt Damon. My favorite since 1992.
- An overwhelming feeling of being unsettled. The wanderlust in me is real. Always has been, as long as I can remember. I love traveling and seeing new places and experiencing all the new things. I was fortunate to travel a lot as a kid and teenager and it stuck.
- True crime. You guys know I love all things dark and murdery and true crime and criminal justice but this dates back as long as I can remember. While normal kids were reading whatever it was normal kids read, I was reading Christopher Pike’s creepy ass teenage murder books and books about Ted Bundy and Jack the Ripper.
- Being an introvert. Living the introvert life since 1977.
It’s pretty interesting to me to look back at how much I’ve changed as a person but my interests are consistent. Then again, there’s also a whole list of things I hated in high school but love now. Like dogs. I can’t imagine my life without them now but when my sisters were begging for one, I threatened to move out. Not even kidding.
So I guess not everything is the same as it was back then.
How about you guys? How have you stayed the same since high school?
I am also pretty much the same. Spend my money the same way. Listen to the same songs. Pretty much do the same things movies make up just hanging out. I will say I’m a little more introverted now because I was on the cheerleading squad in high school but when I wasn’t cheering I was right back at home no pants hanging out not answering my phone.
yeah, pretty much! Fuck toxic people, pants and the drama. who needs any of those in life, right?
even my taste in music hasn’t changed; i loved depeche mode and biggie smalls back then, i still love their music now.
I am so with you on the Matt Damon train. I remember seeing Good Will Hunting at the dollar movie theater in 1996 and wanting to marry him.
My musical taste is still very, very similar. John Mayer’s Room for Squares and Maroon 5’s Songs About Jane were my go to CDs in my senior year and I still love them both and they take me right back to all the angst. Only now I have John Mayer on vinyl too because hipster status.
You make an excellent point, I haven’t really changed much since high school either. I listen to the same music, wear a lot of the same clothes ( I have on a freaking jean jacket and striped dress today need I say more?!?!?! ), spend my money on the same things, and still have no clue what I want to be when I grow up. So yeah, you never really do “leave” your high school self do you?
In high school/college, I didn’t change clothes after school but once I started working in the “real” world, Hell yes. I was pretty anxious to graduate too and really have not kept in tough with anyone from my high school years. Some friend me on facebook, which I always find weird. We haven’t talked in 20 plus years, so are we really friends? I don’t know. Initially I thought I was very different from my high school days, but in retrospect I’m not. Really, I’m just more self-aware of both the good and bad parts of me. And oddly, while I care less about being trendy and what others think (still some work to do here), I’m also way more anxious than I used to back then.
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So glad I’m not the only one who despised high school. Also avoided anywhere that I might see someone, after I graduated. Now? Not so much. I’m not as shy as I was then. I’m more outgoing and am not as worried someone doesn’t or might not like me. So many things different about me, and then some that haven’t changed. College was a much better experience for me all around.
i hated high school too. i ended up leaving early and going to TAFE – kind of like community college maybe? it’s an ‘adult learning environment’ but i could finish my high school certificate there, so i did that, because i was just so over the people and ridiculousness.
i love looking back and seeing how much i have changed almost as much as i love looking back and seeing how i’ve stayed the same. i think the only thing i can really think of is books over everything else, and being an introvert. and Matt Damon too because yes please always and forever.
I was practically jumping for joy when I finally graduated high school too because I was so ready to get away from all the people at my high school. I agree that on a fundamental level we probably don’t change too much from who we were in high school, and typically like the same sorts of things. I will say that my music tastes do change a little bit, but I’ve always been a mixed tape sort of girl and love listening to a random assortment of music.
Love this! I’ve changed in so many ways, but notice every time I bust out my HS yearbook just how relevant the comments still are from my friends who signed. They talk about how I know the words to EVERY popular song (still do), how sarcastic I am (still am), how I’m always rocking some kind of trendy getup (still try to) and my love of quoting movies, which…still happens. It’s nice to know that as much as things change, they still do stay the same.
Living the life since 1977 – that made me laugh.
So funny to think about this really. I would think at the core, I’m the same but at least I dont wear blue eye shadow & blue eye liner anymore 😉
I enjoyed this blog! High school was ok but
We didn’t have a lot of money and my clothes
Were jive and I was chubby by the standards back then.
Lol on how your dog feelings changed. It happened
To Steph, too. She was not too tolerant of our dog Striker and then she got Gussie and it was all over.
Furry kids are awesome, even though our puppy has
Been a challenge!
Love, Steph’s Momma
A lot about us was the same… The music, the disenchantment with the culture at a good school, wanderlust, introversion… I could on. I’ve oscillated over the years. When I get stressed out I’m not in line with what I was. And I may be weird in that I think I was a decent person at 17. Definitely not fully mature, but generally happy with the way I conducted myself. Then when stress kicks in I’m totally not happy and get obsessive with fixing everything and feel the furthest from the real self I knew back in the day.
Thanks for making me think!
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As you can imagine, there are several things on this list that are relatable to me. Rock chick, love of drug stores, crushing on same celebrity, books & music over tv, true crime (I remember my mother wondering if it was weird that her teenage daughter was reading Helter Skelter about the Manson murders.) I still wear blue eyeliner and funky shoes. Back then, it was all the colors of reebok hi-tops; now, it is colorful Converse, Doc Martens, and flats for work.
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