By Jenna Giulioni
Senior Staff Writer
Photo by Stephanie Kim
Troy and Gabriella lied to me; the captain of the basketball team is not the star of the fall play, it is not socially acceptable to sing my feelings to the whole cafeteria, and two blonde twins do not rule the school. As one group of seniors declared to us on the first day, this is absolutely nothing like High School Musical. I’m not saying that my three years at SPHS have been the bane of my existence or anything, but the standards were set pretty high.
We grew up on Cher convincing us that high school life is a fashion show which requires plaid skirt and jacket combos. When in reality, looking across senior lawn, yoga pants and t-shirts triumph. Prom was supposed to be the best night of my life, but it was just another dance, albeit one I spent a lot more money preparing for. And Janice Ian told me that cliques were impenetrable barriers that divided the school with definite labels and no flexibility, something that is beyond untrue at SPHS.
I have come to realize that the movies we were raised on have just proven to confuse us. We aren’t expected to fall in love in high school, you’re allowed to converse with people outside of your ‘group’, and the jocks don’t throw Calc BC kids into the trash cans. Having that message impressed upon us since childhood screws with our perception of what’s normal and puts pressure on what we believe is expected of us during this time.
Hollywood has convinced us that our high school experience is supposed to be something more than it actually is. We are here to ready ourselves for what’s to come, whether that be completing the A-G requirements and heading off to college, becoming job-ready through the CTE courses, or just simply graduating. It isn’t supposed to be the best time of our lives. We should enjoy ourselves, but whether or not you get asked to that dance by the captain of the football team won’t alter your future.
As wonderful as it would be to break into song in the middle of the cafeteria, high school is nothing like the movies. There are bigger things that await us, so let this time be what it is supposed to be – the building blocks of our future. As if it’s anything more.
