In high school, I was voted "Worst Case of Senioritis." Now, I'm only a few months into my freshman year of college and I already miss home from time to time! I got the opportunity to go back to my high school for a day and jumped at the chance. This is what I experienced.
I decided to follow my little sister and one of my close friends to their classes all day. I made sure the teachers somewhat knew ahead of time and then went to school for the first time as a "visitor." This in itself was weird. Just having that badge made me feel so different. I felt unaccepted in my school without it.
I quickly noticed that people looked at me weird. They all knew who I was but didn't understand why I would want to come back to high school. Someday, they'll understand. I walked down the hall with my sister and I got many different reactions. Some people became excited, some ignored that I existed. Really, this part wasn't much different from actually being in high school.
Getting to see my old teachers again was probably one of the best parts of my trip. My first teacher of the day was one of my favorites and it was great to get to catch up. Throughout the day, I noticed that even the teachers who didn't know I was coming were very welcoming of me in their classes. One of my teachers even asked me about what I was learning in school that was related to their class. He centered his entire class discussion over what I told him and his class. Some teachers wouldn't even notice that I wasn't supposed to be there. They had grown so accustomed to having me in their classes that me being there didn't initially seem different. They all eventually realized that I wasn't really supposed to be there and we laughed together about it. Teachers were also more open with me about various subjects. This spanned from telling me about this years' class and curriculum, discussing how well high school REALLY prepared me for college and being honest about how hard college really is. My senior year, I really got to see that my teachers were pretty cool (and human), and coming back to school for a day just made it even more apparent.
I love learning so it was great to sit on in classes I had taken and actually understand the material this time around. In a few classes, it took a while to come back to me, but once I remembered it brought back so many memories of hours of homework and tears. It all seems so silly now.
The main reason I came back was to go back to choir for one day. My choir is my family, even now. I was president for two years and I really see all of my past classmates as my "children." I love them all so much and I am so excited to see how far they all go in life, and I know they all feel the same about me. Being back in choir was surprisingly strange. While I knew all the faces, they weren't all part of my family from previous years. Some hadn't come back, and many new people were added. It wasn't who I had grown accustomed to. Despite this, those who were from my choir family welcomed me with open arms. To my choir: You all are amazing people. Never stop being you. P.S. Try not to kill our director, he really is great.
One thing I found out is that high school drama really doesn't die out. I was invited to a class by my teacher and later found out that someone who I had minor problems with while in high school thought that I shouldn't have gotten to be in there. I also got dirty looks throughout the day from onlookers when I would run up to and hug people I hadn't seen in a while. Let me be! Give me 8 hours and you'll never have to see me again!
My day experiencing high school again didn't end after school did. I decided to take my sister and her friends out to eat before the football game. This wasn't something I did in high school, but just hanging out with them brought back many memories. Then we all went back to the school and I visited with my cheer team. When I got there I had discovered that they changed the location of where they got ready to somewhere completely different. This definitely threw me off. After a few minutes though, it really was just like old times. Except, I wasn't getting ready with them anymore.
Going to the football game was... sad. I decided I couldn't just sit there and wallow because I wasn't out there cheering with my squad. So, instead, I took pictures. This gave me something to contribute to the squad, even though I couldn't physically be out there with them. It was really hard to be reminded that I will never cheer again.
Despite being sad for this portion of my experience, the trip overall was really great for me. I learned that your high school is so affected by your class that when you leave and another one comes, so much changes. Even with the changes, though, it is nice to get back to what made you, you. Even if we don't want it to, our high school has strongly affected who each of us are today. Sometimes, you've just gotta appreciate it for the bad and good.
Keep in touch with those from high school, even if it's just a teacher. Someone wants to know how you are and wishes you well.
