By Daniela Laurel
Life is not a John Hughes movie; detention isn’t fun, that senior you’re crushing on, will not break up with his girlfriend for you, you’re not going to glo’ up overnight, and honestly, is anyone emotionally ready for high school?
High school movies usually consist of a bunch of 20 something-year-olds trying to pass for high school sophomores, confronting the status quo, finding love, and breaking out into a performance in the middle of first period. Each film makes you question whether any of them actually went to a high school.
Films make high school look like a dream; the characters all have time to catch up between classes at their decked out lockers and talk about a grand adventure they had the night before. As bulldogs, on the other hand, we have no lockers and a sorry 5 minutes to make it to class on time. One of our seniors, Helen Martinez said “One of the main things that got to me, was the fact that we don’t have lockers. I basically almost cried when I found out. I was like, no lockers?!?”. In Braddock, we are constantly rushing to class and the lunch we are given is barely edible. This is the harsh reality we experience every day.
On the big screen, we witness well-dressed teenagers with an outstanding soundtrack playing in the background… More like that one guy blasting Bad Bunny in the hallways from his speaker and a stream of freshmen wearing fake Gucci belts. In these films, the protagonists actually have a social life. Meanwhile, we spend our days crying over our GPA and trying to finish our homework the period before it’s due. A sophomore Cosette Alvarez said, “Nothing that happens in the movies actually happens…NOTHING.”
Every teen classic includes a scene in which the characters head off to a raging party and have the time of their lives until the sun comes up, most of us can’t even leave the house after 10:00 P.M. Speaking from personal experience, the rare occasion that we do end up at a party, it ends up getting raided by 10:00 P.M. anyways.
In most cinematic works there is this grand romantic gesture, but in reality, most of us will never find our Troy Bolton or Gabriella Montez within these 4 years. Like come on, Love at first Karaoke? In the movies, it seems so simple. Against all odds, two people come together and spend the rest of their days completely infatuated and in love with each other. However, most high school relationships barely make it through cuffing season and next thing you know you are just another name on a hit list. It might be because “chivalry is dead” or because relationships just aren’t how they used to be. We asked Mr. Server, a former Bulldog, whether he experienced or participated in any grand romantic gesture, we were met with an abrupt “No”.
Although our lives aren’t interesting enough to become cult classics, high school isn’t that bad… well, you’ll make it out alive.
The Watchdog 