My friends and I took AP Human Geography back in ninth grade. We were still in a middle school building at the time but had to take the test at the high school down the street. We were excused until fifth period, but the test got done halfway through fourth, so we took our sweet time walking back. There was a little donut shop halfway between the two schools, so we dumped our pocket change on the counter and bought some from the glaring cashier. You can read all about that here.
We thought we were so clever, eating doughnuts while we were supposed to be in class. Fast forward to last Thursday. We had an assembly during first period, the first of three that day. All we do for a half hour is wander around the gym and buy treats and trinkets to raise money for Silver Rush. We weren't doing anything in class and we'd already been excused for the assembly. Plus my friend Hannah hadn't eaten breakfast. So we drove around town with no particular destination until we settled on IHOP.
We ordered French toast from a waitress who didn't question us. Then Hannah and Esme texted their parents to brag and documented our adventure for posterity.
We thought we were so clever, eating breakfast while we were supposed to be in class. Someone-probably me-brought up the donut adventure and we joked about our ninth grade selves. Then I had a thought. "What if, three years from now, we look back and say, 'Remember when we went out to IHOP senior year and thought we were getting away with something? Yeah, we're so passed that now."
I did a school musical back in October. On Paint Day, the drama teacher realized we were short ten extension cords. My friend L'ren, who oozes trustworthiness from every pore, was chosen to drive down to Walmart and buy some with his credit card.
I tagged along. Because, you know. Extension cord is heavy. We wandered around Walmart, trying to guess his middle name and carrying on a loud conversation about our "stolen" credit card. On the way back I realized how overhyped it was.
"A year from now," I told L'ren, "Running to Walmart for extension cord won't be an adventure, no matter whose credit card we're using. It will be running to Walmart for extension cord."
My brother's in ninth grade now. He replaced me. He can walk up to the gas station with his buddies, buy candy bars, and call that an adventure. I can't. The things we enjoy right now will seem cheap and ridiculous as we age. But that doesn't mean they are inherently cheap and superficial. For years, I felt "less" than my peers because I don't party and date the way some of them do. Now I've realized that I don't have to. There's a time for everything, and the time for French toast and extension cords is now. These types of adventures expire before you know it.
So go party. Clock's ticking.
We thought we were so clever, eating doughnuts while we were supposed to be in class. Fast forward to last Thursday. We had an assembly during first period, the first of three that day. All we do for a half hour is wander around the gym and buy treats and trinkets to raise money for Silver Rush. We weren't doing anything in class and we'd already been excused for the assembly. Plus my friend Hannah hadn't eaten breakfast. So we drove around town with no particular destination until we settled on IHOP.
We ordered French toast from a waitress who didn't question us. Then Hannah and Esme texted their parents to brag and documented our adventure for posterity.
We thought we were so clever, eating breakfast while we were supposed to be in class. Someone-probably me-brought up the donut adventure and we joked about our ninth grade selves. Then I had a thought. "What if, three years from now, we look back and say, 'Remember when we went out to IHOP senior year and thought we were getting away with something? Yeah, we're so passed that now."
I did a school musical back in October. On Paint Day, the drama teacher realized we were short ten extension cords. My friend L'ren, who oozes trustworthiness from every pore, was chosen to drive down to Walmart and buy some with his credit card.
I tagged along. Because, you know. Extension cord is heavy. We wandered around Walmart, trying to guess his middle name and carrying on a loud conversation about our "stolen" credit card. On the way back I realized how overhyped it was.
"A year from now," I told L'ren, "Running to Walmart for extension cord won't be an adventure, no matter whose credit card we're using. It will be running to Walmart for extension cord."
My brother's in ninth grade now. He replaced me. He can walk up to the gas station with his buddies, buy candy bars, and call that an adventure. I can't. The things we enjoy right now will seem cheap and ridiculous as we age. But that doesn't mean they are inherently cheap and superficial. For years, I felt "less" than my peers because I don't party and date the way some of them do. Now I've realized that I don't have to. There's a time for everything, and the time for French toast and extension cords is now. These types of adventures expire before you know it.
So go party. Clock's ticking.
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