As We Go On, We Remember, All The Times We Had Together
Many people come out of high school with bad memories, but I can’t say that I did. Like most freshman I had a hard time finding my “group”, who was I am and where do I belong? It is hard to make the leap from a comfortable 8th grade class where everyone knows everyone to a massive class of 500 plus students from all over the county. I could relate to Elizabeth Case’s story of moving on from friend to friend to find where you fit in. In this short year I too found out “how broad and all-encompassing this world is or how much life can change in a year (Goldwasser 98).” I did not find where I truly belonged until 10th grade. It was this year that I discovered the true treasure of friendship, some that I still carry with me today. You realize who your true friends are when you go through trials. In my 10th grade year I went through some tough personal issues and relied heavily on my group of best friends, who were there to support and carry me through.
Like Emily Knox from the reading I really never associated myself with the thought of being popular. I was a straight “A” student, who was friendly, easy going, and truly cared about others. I never succumbed to peer pressure, instead I had friends who loved me for who I was, not someone I was trying to be. This connected with the text where Emily’s mom stated “when you don’t know that you’re popular, you don’t bask in it. Then you can just be yourself. You realize that people like you for who you are (Goldwasser 83).” I just wanted to be me and accepted for who I was. Some people think I fit into that “popular crowd”, but I still don’t think I did. Sure, my best friends did out of my 5 closest friends, three of them were on the cheerleading squad, two of them held student government positions, two of them were always on homecoming/prom court and usually won. But, I would not consider myself popular. I did not have any enemies; I was the nice girl who got along with just about everyone.
I remember my high school days of being filled with football games, Friday night hang outs, homecoming, soccer games, proms, movies, oh ya, did I mention PROM?!?! It is actually funny how prom is the most memorable high school adventure, even more so than graduation! There is so much involved in prom planning, what dress you are going to wear, how you are going to wear your hair, finding the perfect accessories, where you are going to eat before, who you are going with, how you are going to get there, and then of course all the drama involved! It is an understatement to say that “proms take on a larger-than-life importance (Best 195).” Aside from your wedding and having a baby it is probably one of the most memorable moments of life. It is not at all surprising that “an average of $500 is spent to go to prom (Best 197)”, to some it is like a mini wedding who spend $500 plus on their dress alone, trust me I know, I had friends who did!
There is an extreme amount of pressure on girls today to be prom perfect, to have the perfect hair, make-up, accessories and of course the PERFECT DRESS! This one night provides girls with the opportunity to totally reinvent themselves and be someone they are not. Proms truly allow “for these young women to express alternative identities to those they perform daily in school (Best 202).” It is so tough for girls to resist the culture of prom, but is this identity of being a princess for a day harmful?
Like Emily Knox from the reading I really never associated myself with the thought of being popular. I was a straight “A” student, who was friendly, easy going, and truly cared about others. I never succumbed to peer pressure, instead I had friends who loved me for who I was, not someone I was trying to be. This connected with the text where Emily’s mom stated “when you don’t know that you’re popular, you don’t bask in it. Then you can just be yourself. You realize that people like you for who you are (Goldwasser 83).” I just wanted to be me and accepted for who I was. Some people think I fit into that “popular crowd”, but I still don’t think I did. Sure, my best friends did out of my 5 closest friends, three of them were on the cheerleading squad, two of them held student government positions, two of them were always on homecoming/prom court and usually won. But, I would not consider myself popular. I did not have any enemies; I was the nice girl who got along with just about everyone.
I remember my high school days of being filled with football games, Friday night hang outs, homecoming, soccer games, proms, movies, oh ya, did I mention PROM?!?! It is actually funny how prom is the most memorable high school adventure, even more so than graduation! There is so much involved in prom planning, what dress you are going to wear, how you are going to wear your hair, finding the perfect accessories, where you are going to eat before, who you are going with, how you are going to get there, and then of course all the drama involved! It is an understatement to say that “proms take on a larger-than-life importance (Best 195).” Aside from your wedding and having a baby it is probably one of the most memorable moments of life. It is not at all surprising that “an average of $500 is spent to go to prom (Best 197)”, to some it is like a mini wedding who spend $500 plus on their dress alone, trust me I know, I had friends who did!
There is an extreme amount of pressure on girls today to be prom perfect, to have the perfect hair, make-up, accessories and of course the PERFECT DRESS! This one night provides girls with the opportunity to totally reinvent themselves and be someone they are not. Proms truly allow “for these young women to express alternative identities to those they perform daily in school (Best 202).” It is so tough for girls to resist the culture of prom, but is this identity of being a princess for a day harmful?
Comments