Reflections on Highschool

Looking through my old photo albums this morning I found myself reflecting upon my uncomfortable post-adolescent years. Boy I sure did hate high school. It is fortunate that I knew nothing other than emersion in the petty politics of teen cliques. If I had to return to high school again, knowing what I do now, I would be even more furious.

For me, high school was all about trying to be cool and desirable. Paradoxically, I had intense distain for the cool kids. This may have been because they seemed to have the idyllic lives that I so desparately sought to possess. I spoke with an old friend about this earlier this month about my high school quest for popularity and he asserted that if I could have been cool in high school, I would have. He insisted that my outsider status wasn't a matter of principle, it was a symptom of my lack of compatibility with the trappings and mannerisms of the cooler caste.

My father once mused that "the nerds rule the world," using the example of Bill Gates as proof of this theory. It is true that in the realm of economic status, a crafty nerd can parlay his intelligence or creativity into monetary gain. I feel that the realm of the social, however, has different, more animal rules. Being liked in everyday human interactions depends largely upon how you present yourself and how you react to the behavior of others. I believe that this is where the nerds tend to struggle. Is social grace a thing that can be learned? If so, does altering one's innate, nerdy awkwardness compromise one's character? They say that being true to yourself is a virtue for which one should strive - but what if yourself is a jerk? What then, Horatio?

Blogging is self-indulgent. I hope that if you've read this, you can find something worthwhile to muddle over throughout your day. I would like to order the chicken fingers. Mmmm.

Markre