'Let's keep it on the DL'
Everyone in high school is just trying to get by.
Of course there are outliers, like the super popular ones who peak around 19 and deal weed out of their lockers. And then there are the lame, shy kids who will probably go on to be incredibly successful one day, but nobody gives a shit because we’re human and we can’t see past the now.
After that comes the popular-non-popular. You’re happy to show up, you don’t have beef with anyone, but you’re also happy to move on when the time comes.
Popular guys thought you were cute, but were super low-key about it
There was that one guy on the football team who was always super down to sext, but he would kind of make sure you kept it on the DL. He’d message you after school or smile when you passed, but never stopped to say hi or introduce you to any of his other friends.
He still texts you years after reminiscing about the past “romance,” but you’ve moved on.
Popular girls would say they ‘admire your courage’
Any time you wore anything trendy or unique, popular girls were sure to take note, but they would always finish off the compliment with something like, “I would never try to pull it off though.”
You didn’t have a ‘thing’
Most people in high school can be categorized into groups: track kids, burnouts, skaters, band kids, narcs. But popular-non-popular people don’t really align with any of these personalities. Even if you did play lacrosse or cheer, you probably only did if for a season or two and weren’t very dedicated.
Your parents for some reason thought you had no friends
Parents of high schoolers are harder to please than high schoolers these days, and what that means is they’re living vicariously through you. If you weren’t talking about a guy or ruining the house when they left, they assumed you spent all your time alone.
You never had specific weekend plans but you always ended up somewhere
It wasn’t like you knew on Friday you would be headed to a rager at Brad’s, but you always knew you would be busy; You’d end up at your usual friend’s house, or find yourself at a concert with some kind-of friends.
Sometimes you would even find yourself at Brad’s, but not always for the right reasons.
Group projects were stressful
They weren’t stressful because you didn’t have friends, but because you were kind of friends with a bunch of people.
It was like you could either be in anybody’s group or nobody’s group — it kind of just depended who was sitting near who in class that day, and how friendly they were feeling with one another.
You were never sure where to sit at lunch, so you drifted
Lunch time is a time to gather and spew woes about everything that happened in the two hours prior (why are lunches always so early in high school?).
But when your friends are spread out over a number of groups, you feel weird sitting with just one of them for an extended period of time. It’s kind of like overstaying your welcome, but not.
You didn’t have a ride-or-die but you were in a thousand group chats
The chats even followed you into college and beyond, but it seems like all of your high school friends still keep in touch with one another, and you can’t really figure out why.
Did they make new friends in the real world? Have they hung out with anybody else since we left?
You have no idea where most people from your high school are now
There were too many people and too many lives to keep up with, so you kind of just hid them all from your timeline and wished them well.
One day they’ll add you again, but you probably won’t remember who they are.