a ‘story’ about fitting in.
Hi, I’m Brittany. I’m sixteen years old.
I go to high school and I hate it.
Welcome to almost every teenager’s
world. Just so you know, this is not
an article about not fitting in at high
school and how to ‘find your place’ or
your ‘clique’. This is an article about
not fitting in, and knowing that you
are not alone.
going into high school, I was terribly
misled by the media and my own
great expectations. So, you can
imagine my disappointment when I
arrived. I was short, ugly, and I looked
young, unlike the beautiful high
school people on TV, who, let’s be
realistic, are usually about 23 years
old, playing a 16 year old.
Growing up, high school was this
amazing fantasy land where School
was Cool, and everyone was finally
Cool because, duh, you’re at high
school now! I imagined a cafeteria
where you’d go every lunch and pick
out some amazing food, sit with a
whole bunch of wonderful friends who
you really connected to, and who had
your back against the bullies. And
every once in a while the entire school
would break out into a musical and
everyone would be just so happy.
Lockers would be floor-to-ceiling high,
and I would stash a spare change of
clothes inside, in case, God forbid, I
spilt my delicious cafeteria food on it.
Not only that, but I imagined I’d get a
high school boyfriend (like every high
schooler does, right?) and we’d go to
‘prom’ together, and probably end up
getting married.
At my high school there were no
impromptu musicals, the lockers,
much to my horror, where barely big
enough to fit my books and P.E.
uniform inside, and the cafeteria (or
‘canteen’ as we call them in New
Zealand) did not hold indoor seating,
and the lines were almost too crazy to
for me to bother going. What’s more, I
didn’t get a boyfriend, and still don’t
and I will most likely remain
boyfriendless for the rest of my life
because for some reason I’m like a
non-boy-magnet. Even though it feels
kind of crappy on