my high school.
2013-2017
the good...
Some parts of my high school experience were great. I had some absolutely great friends that made me who I am today. I took elective classes in art, motion picture production, technical theatre, and screenwriting that all gave me a great deal of the creative skills I have today. My English teachers provided me with the passion and skills I use today to write. They also increased my love for literature. Darker themed classes, such as one on the holocaust and genocide, ingrained a sense of empathy and global awareness in me that I cannot shake. As a whole, I also learned a great deal about myself. I learned what drives me, what subjects inspire me, and what kinds of people I enjoy spending time around. During high school, I also got into photography. That passion has remained with me to this day.
2 of my high school friends.
the bad...
There are people I'm bound to not enjoy being around anywhere in the world, but I felt that my high school was especially filled with people I would never be able to get along with. Going to a school in the south, I was surrounded by countless students and teachers with racist, sexist, homophobic, and xenophobic view points. My safe haven was my friends, but it was impossible to stay in that circle all the time. There were countless times that I felt ostracized because of the way I dressed out of school, how I spoke, and who I chose to hang out with. Much of my school curriculum was very euro-centric and geared towards educating students about the history of white people more than anything. Thankfully, a few special teachers were willing to go against the grain and teach their students about racial inequality, gender non-conformity in literature, and how much harm overly xenophobic ideas can cause.
& the utterly homophobic.
Growing up gay at an extremely homophobic and unwelcoming high school was not ideal. It was confusing, isolating, and traumatizing. For the first three years of my high school experience, I did not tell one person the truth. I lived my life far back in the closet and tried to hide every aspect of myself that would indicate I was gay. I was afraid my voice was too high so I tried to lower it. I was afraid people would think I was gay if I had too many friends who were girls so I hung out with my female friends less. I thought I needed to dress like the straight guys in my grade to hide my true identity. I felt societally pressured to have a girlfriend, so I dated a girl for 4 months during my sophomore year. I acted somewhat homophobic sometimes just to blend in with the rest of the crowd doing the same thing. I saw how the one gay kid who was out in the grade was treated and talked about behind his back. I did not want the same for me. On top of all this, the Christian churches my family had attended during my childhood made me feel extremely unwelcome. Thankfully, by my senior year, I knew I had to make a change. I couldn't keep up the act any longer. I started to come out to my best friends. One by one, I began to tell people the truth. Every time, with every person, I felt I could be more of myself. I stopped lowering my voice, I reconnected with my female friends, and dressed in ways that made me feel good. Best of all, I decided to apply to a school in California. The story continued there...
me & high school friends riding in my best friends car (we loved his car because 3 people could ride in the front seat)
