Wednesday, February 22, 2006

High School Not Nirvana For Everyone

I loved high school. There with all my friends in the ebb and flow of small town life, I was somewhat insulated from the world outside and the worst thing that happened to me was being occasionally scolded by a teacher for goofing off.
I have so many fond memories of that time.....but I have discovered since starting this site, not everyone shares this view. I have spoken to some people about the site and how it is an avenue for linking up with old friends and classmates. More than one person has said in venomous tones that they could care less about classmates or anything associated with high school. I was dumbfounded.
How could someone after thirty years feel so negative about their experience at our school?
I talked to my wife Jilda and she said that "unlike your experience, high school was not Nirvana for everyone." She was popular in high school and had her share of friends, but she weighed eighty four pounds when we first started dating in 1968. Now that's thin for a sixteen year old. Even her grandmother pulled me aside at a family gathering a short time after Jilda and I started dating and said "Jilder looks a little wormy to me." (Yes her grandmother called her Jilder.) If her grandmother said that, I imagine that the kids in school had much worse things to say. In fact, Jilda said that she was constantly the brunt of skinny jokes, some of which cut a little too close to the bone. Now she's always been a scrapper and she can fend for herself, but there are others who get scars that are tender to the touch even years after the initial wound.
I got a note last night from an alumnus who said she had been in touch with a classmate who used this site to contact old classmates and apologize for their behavior in school.
I was humbled by this note. I've tried to think back and remember if I caused anyone pain on my journey through that place. I don't recall, but oftentimes the one who does the hurting has forgotten the incident by the time the laughter fades and the one who has been hurt carries the injury for life.
It's funny that something which started out as a simple tool for use in planning reunions (the Dora High School alumni website) could be used as a vehicle by people to try and "right some old wrongs."

No comments:

Post a Comment

Please consider sharing

Email Signup Form

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required