There are so many ridiculous tropes about what it's like being a teenager and going to high school that are constantly portrayed in movies and on television. According to these films, the only things that matter to teens is when they're getting their driver's license and making sure their prom nights are perfect. These fallacies, coupled with the typical hot popular crowd contrasting the outcast angsty teens, make for good comedy but prove to be totally inaccurate.
Here are 21 things that teens always do in movies that (very rarely) happen in the everyday life of a high school student:
1. Food fights break out in the cafeteria.
As fun as this looks, I have never known a full out food war to happen during lunch.
2. Teachers give out multiple Saturday detentions a week...
Punishments with these teachers really are all or nothing.
3. Then the detention supervisor leaves the room for hours at a time.
Perfect chance for the detention students to disappear then come back at the exact moment the teacher is returning!
4. Lockers get vandalized in the middle of the day and no one notices when it is happening.
You mean to tell me that no one noticed the kid carrying a bottle of spray paint around the hallway?
5. Mass texts get sent out to the ENTIRE school.
Every high schooler has a mass list of everyone in the school's number, don't they?
6. They wake up on their sixteenth birthday with a new car in the driveway with a bow on the hood.
Where do you even get a bow that big?
7. And all of the cars they drive are shiny and new.
Do they really deserve it? Probably not.
8. Girls barge in to confront guys in their locker room.
Because it's totally casual and not punishable for a girl to go in the boy's locker room.
9. Someone always spikes the punch bowl at a school dance.
Do school dances even have punch bowls anymore?
10. There are huge house parties with multiple kegs and hundreds of people.
Oh, and don't forget the swimming pool in the backyard.
11. Parents just walk into the school and hunt their kids down in class.
"Mom? What are you doing here?"
12. No schools have a strict or realistic dress code.
Realistically, we all wore leggings and t-shirts...
13. People randomly break out in song...
Not just any song, though—one that magically applies to every student in the school's situation.
14. And everyone somehow knows synchronized choreography for it.
Most high school students can't even walk down the hall in an organized way.
15. The person who people are gossiping about in the bathroom overhears because they were unnoticed in a stall.
Who sits in the bathroom long enough to hear an entire conversation?
16. The "nerd" gets a makeover and is suddenly hotter than the "popular" group.
It's even better when this is done by simply removing a pair of glasses.
17. Someone drops their bag and literally EVERYTHING in it falls out.
Bonus points if the victim is the new girl. Double bonus points if she falls in love with the boy who helps her pick up her belongings.
18. Cheerleaders always wear their uniforms to school.
Not to mention their unrealistic and excessively sexualized routines...
19. Sporting events constantly have a nail-biting finish.
And with a final winning shot at the whistle.
20. People get revenge by pouring a full milkshake/smoothie/soda on their enemy.
This is literally evil, and I feel bad for whomever it does actually happen to.
21. Someone spills a giant secret to the whole school because they accidentally left the speaker on.
Why do movies even give students access to microphones?
Energetic dance performance under the spotlight.
Taylor Swift in a purple coat, captivating the crowd on stage.
Taylor Swift shines on stage in a sparkling outfit and boots.
Taylor Swift and Phoebe Bridgers sharing a joyful duet on stage.
