find yourself

the first time i heard 'highschool never ends', i had already embraced the concept. having the idea concisely packaged in three words made it easier to toy around with, to relate to others, to remind myself of it. but the essence remains that no matter where you go in life, no matter what you end up doing, there will be all these rules and regulations, pigeonholes and class stigma, axioms and bureaucracies - which you would have encountered during highschool (or if you're some unlucky sob, earlier in life).

this does not have to be a bad thing, though. but it is definitely... something. at least something to be aware of. and the something that it is, is quite complex, such that i do not think i can fully do it justice by writing so aloofly about it. indeed, this seems like a good time for personal stories and first-hand experiences. note the following:

when i entered highschool, everyone was so quick to brand each other, and ironically, thoroughly enthusiastic of securing a brand for themselves. some tag or label which, i felt most of the time was not justified of who they were, but who they wanted to be perceived to be. again, this is not something bad - having a firm foothold on the 'good' side of society is like having a 20m headstart in a relay: it won't guarantee you the win, but it'll make life that much simpler. at least, 'life' here pertaining to your few years in highschool. as for myself, it is unfortunate, but unerring that i fell into the 'nerd' or 'geek' category as soon as everyone could simultaneously say 'good news, everyone'.

a side note, the 'nerd' mentioned here is not the type similar to:
a) weezer, where uncool is the new cool.
b) bill nye, where nerdy is educational, funny and fun.
c) generic high school drama, where at the end of the movie / episode / season, the nerd gets the cheerleader, saves the world, discovers the cure to cancer and helps a grandmother across the road, then to discover that she is the queen of england, who rewards him with a lifetime of gold, whores and crack cocaine.
d) emo, underground french revolution-esque movements, which end up toppling the social hierarchy, and have the nerds take their (arguable) rightful place in the world.
e) american hi-fi, where the geeks get the girl.
f) so on and so forth.

indeed, being in such a group sets (low) standards for individuals, which at the time was such as myself, and this was fine and dandy.

next comes the issue of social mobility - as long as you progress through life with people who had known your prior social status, there can be none. zero. nil. this is why people who chose to move up (or down) in the world, have to shed their acquaintances. or preferably, win the lottery, move to columbia and start a plantation full of beautiful, red flowers. nothing says success more ardently than a white suit, a pair of dark shades and a latina ho hanging from each of your arms. aw yeah.

while today we have been wishy-washy with the rising and establishment of social statuses in highschool, let us part with rememberance of how we came into our little roles, and in the next entry, hopefully ponder the consequences of living in such nietzches. that's a cross between niches and nietzche, just because i feel i haven't made today's quota of horrible puns.