The good old days
Memories of high school (and junior high)...
What's worse than liking a girl who doesn't know you exist?
Liking a girl who does know you exist and thinks you're a geek.
I was in 8th grade, she was in 7th grade. She was a cheerleader, the friend of my cousin. And for some reason, she thought I was a geek. Don't know why - I was in the band, so that probably had something to do with it. She liked a football player, as most cheerleaders do. And I was always a "nice guy", which means that the cheerleaders and popular girls would never consider going out with me.
I remember being in agony when I finally realized I didn't have a chance. But, as in most similar cases, that agony was short lived - only a couple of days. So I went on with my life, which went rather well - stayed in the band, earning all-state honors; also in the chorus, but that's another story; in a couple of school plays; National Honor Society; salutatorian of my class; and I did meet one girl who thought it would be okay to date me...
Recently, I saw that particular cheerleader again. Turns out she has a child at the school where my wife teaches (cue the colorful dolls singing "It's a Small World"). She looks much the same, except for the addition of some extra weight. But then I look much the same, except for the loss of some hair. Didn't bother to try to talk to her - she wouldn't talk to me then, so why bother now?
But that encounter got me thinking about life over the last 22 years. I have a beautiful wife, a great son, a nice job, a good place to live, everything I need, plenty of what I want, and no football-related injuries (I did get a minor band-related injury, but again, another story).
So, as I realized after a couple of days back then, not dating her was wasn't the end of the world. Turns out everything worked out just fine.
Of course, seeing her again, it was hard to resist the urge to say, "Ha ha ha! See what all you missed out on!" But that wouldn't be very nice, would it?
posted by Monty at 9:56 AM
2 Comments:
We all grow.
However, those "popular" people are not always bad people. You should not feel like you need to knock them down, were they ever mean to you? Putting someone else on a a higher social level is not their problem but something you should not do.
Did you ever give this cheerleader a chance? Sometimes geeky band geeks can be more mean because they assume the cheerleader doesn't want to talk to them. Why is it her fault you never went up to chat? Why do you feel good that she gained weight?
Oh yes, I gave her a chance. She knew that I liked her, and she avoided me at all costs. Let it be known to several people that I definitely wasn't her type. So as I see it, she never really gave me a chance.
Feeling good because she gained weight comes from the fact that she thought she was all that, and it just goes to show that life catches up with all of us.
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