The world of high school, the prison where one is contained for hours, never seeing sunlight until the bell rings, signaling the end of the day. Inside the walls, one is never safe, the fear of being odd is close to the heart. The classes are like lectures, never ending, pushing themselves into the mind, pounding and pounding information in, not enough time to process it. Then class ends, the hallways become treacherous traps. Which way does one go, the way of the bullies, the beaten road, the one that drags along hope and smashes it, or the way of the outcasts, the straight, gay road, the one that pulls hate in causing the bullies to be stronger.

Middle school is less treacherous, bullies are weak, but the weakness of one’s own self makes the bullies look stronger, seeming to always be in front, but behind in reality. One cannot wait until it is over, the thought of high school exciting the mind, making life look better, getting older, soon to be who one wants to be, bullies disappearing, but in truth coming back stronger. The summer before flies quickly, soon one dreads fall, but the more dread the faster it approaches. Then the first day of school has come, the exciting day that gives second chances, but the first impression gives chills to others, fear and jealousy controlling, the distinction between outcasts and bullies becomes visible. Trying to stay away from trouble is the goal, but that is impossible, the troublemakers will drag all in to avoid trouble themselves.

Then the populars rise up like royalty and save themselves from the bullying, not caring about their “loyal” subjects. There is one escape from the bullies, the class clown, the one person who is strong enough to make others laugh, a never ending duty that will follow forever, no one taking serious the job that has been laid on one person. The rest are forced into depression, few try to withstand it, but in vain. The struggle lasts for years, the full experience of high school, the four years that make life terrible, the four years that never ends, the four years that ends happiness. Those who rise up still suffer, no matter how happy they look, jealous of those they bully but those victims are jealous of the bullies.

Then the jocks rise up, those who are strong, good looking, and sporty will become the dreams of the girls that go unnoticed. The jocks will hang out with the cheerleaders, the popular girls, and will bully the outcasts. They suffer from peer pressure, some of them do not want to be bullies but they do not want to be bullied. It is the hard choice they must make that will affect the high school society, whether it be the jock themself or the victims they bully.

Then the smarts show, as soon as grades are posted, those who have the highest scores are bullied the most, but those who have the rock bottom scores are also bullied the most, the smarts and the stupids. These people suffer greatly, most of them start failing because their depression takes control. The ones who stay strong will turn out better than the ones who were bullies, they will become the workers of the technological world, creating inventions for the world.

Then the “bad-boys” rise up, those who do not follow rules, those who do not do their homework, those who disobey teachers. Those that are good looking will rise up higher, become the rebellious teen guy that girls want, always doing something to get themselves into trouble. They have no fear of trouble, they do not care what others think, but they are not true to themselves. They just put up an act to get rid of their depression, on the inside they are hurting, on the inside they are crying, on the inside they are wishing they were someone else. The more they do wrong the more reputation they are forced to keep up.

Then there is the friend, the person who helps all, is liked by all, is even loved by all. That one person can make all difference, they give everyone hope, they give everyone love, for they are the perfect person. It is a hard job to do, but with determination and optimism, they can help. They can stop bullying, they can stop the wrongdoing that the “bad-boys” do. Everyone tries to be like them. With this one person doing right, everything becomes better, people stop bullying, people try harder to get better grades. Without this one person, everyone falls apart, everything turns out terrible. This one person will be loved forever, and remembered forever as the one who helped.

It is almost like a light in the darkness. This one light can lead the path of life for others, showing them the mistakes of one’s past, but the one friend of all sees past mistakes and forgives, no matter how much it hurt them. This forgiveness can save lives, change people from their dishonest and mean ways to a more pleasant understanding.

It is not about how much the friend tries, this is about one’s self. The world of high school, how it is perceived, how it makes up it’s hierarchy, how it falls apart, is based on one’s own self, not others. The friend pulls out one’s self to show its true colors, its true form. The friend fixes one’s ways by showing who people really are showing others the real side to them. The real side is afraid, the real side is kind, the real side is nervous, generous, anything and everything pleasant, but it hides behind a mask. This mask is the real reason for the hard times in life, for the evil deeds done by the populus, for the mistakes made that hurt others.

One may think that everything they do does not matter to the world, one may think their opinions have no ground to spring off of. The friend sees past this and reaches in to the facade that one put up, grabbing the truth and holding on to it. Once the truth is revealed, one by one, people begin to change. The truth is an equalizer, the populars, the jocks, the stupids and smarts, even the “bad boys”, they all become equal, they all begin to realize an understanding that is universal. Everyone is human, everyone makes mistakes, everyone has something they dream of, hope of. But not just the friend realizes this, one does too, in the back of the mind. The realization causes one to think about a certain question: What is the world of high school.

The world of high school, the place where dreams seem to be destroyed, the place that takes years to fully understand, the place one seems to dread every day, every minute, every year.

This is the world I live in.