Labels....Do They Still Exist?
Check out Calling ALL...Heads, Jocks, Geeks, Punks, Skinnies and Fatties. We could not decide whether to just link our blog to this post, or to write our own. Charlene Cafarelle made the decision for us and her email was so touching that we just had to share it with you. This is what she had to say:
In addition to checking our reunion blog, I often check the NHS '87 and SHS '86 blogs. The blog posted Monday on the NHS blog caught my eye and I wondered if Rami would mind if we borrowed her idea and posted a message similar to hers. The post was about typical teenage "labels" and how they, unfortunately, may be contributing to the resistance some fellow graduates feel about attending the reunion. Read her post...I bet some of us have had similar encounters.
I'm sure as adults we now realize that all schools/students encounter these or similar feelings and situations. Teenage years are some of the hardest times socially for most children. In addition to basic academic and social struggles, many children have to deal with difficulties at home as well. As our identities blossom they may not fall into the "norm" within a school environment, as a result insecurities and differences surface. Unfortunately as 16-17 year olds the maturity isn't there and those differences are viewed negatively and ultimately end up being transformed into baseless labels.
I'll try to shorten this up...basically high school is a tough time for a lot of teenagers. I will admit it was a difficult time for me. I moved to Slidell during my sophomore year. The change from a big city to a small one like Slidell was difficult. Finding my way into a circle of friends when most people had been friends since kindergarten was even more difficult. When the 10 year reunion came around I was adamantly opposed to attending. I assumed I would have similar feelings during the reunion that I experienced during high school. I am happy that my dear friend Eric Abney convinced me to go. I had a wonderful time at the 10 year reunion. In addition to spending time with people I was friends with but hadn't seen since graduation, I spent time with people I didn't have the pleasure of knowing during high school, people I knew but were intimidated by, and ones I wrongly assumed weren't so nice who turned out to be lovely people. It was nice to see the friendly, welcoming personalities that had developed in so many people I didn't really know in high school.
I encourage any of my fellow graduates who may have had similar feelings during high school to give the reunion a chance. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the wonderful people you will "meet"...I say "meet" because even though you may have known someone in high school by now we are all different people...20 years of life are sure to have molded us, matured us, and changed us....possibly into a future dear friend.
Thanks for your time. I look forward to June 22-24, 2007!!
Charlene Cafarelle
I do not think we could have said it any better. And Charlene, I can personally assure you that Rami is excited that you read her blog, let alone, wanted to reference her post. Hopefully this will reach those of our classmates who either have the same feelings as you and/or who were worried what others would think of what has happened in the past 20 years. Does it really matter 20 years later and do those labels still exist......We certainly hope not!
In addition to checking our reunion blog, I often check the NHS '87 and SHS '86 blogs. The blog posted Monday on the NHS blog caught my eye and I wondered if Rami would mind if we borrowed her idea and posted a message similar to hers. The post was about typical teenage "labels" and how they, unfortunately, may be contributing to the resistance some fellow graduates feel about attending the reunion. Read her post...I bet some of us have had similar encounters.
I'm sure as adults we now realize that all schools/students encounter these or similar feelings and situations. Teenage years are some of the hardest times socially for most children. In addition to basic academic and social struggles, many children have to deal with difficulties at home as well. As our identities blossom they may not fall into the "norm" within a school environment, as a result insecurities and differences surface. Unfortunately as 16-17 year olds the maturity isn't there and those differences are viewed negatively and ultimately end up being transformed into baseless labels.
I'll try to shorten this up...basically high school is a tough time for a lot of teenagers. I will admit it was a difficult time for me. I moved to Slidell during my sophomore year. The change from a big city to a small one like Slidell was difficult. Finding my way into a circle of friends when most people had been friends since kindergarten was even more difficult. When the 10 year reunion came around I was adamantly opposed to attending. I assumed I would have similar feelings during the reunion that I experienced during high school. I am happy that my dear friend Eric Abney convinced me to go. I had a wonderful time at the 10 year reunion. In addition to spending time with people I was friends with but hadn't seen since graduation, I spent time with people I didn't have the pleasure of knowing during high school, people I knew but were intimidated by, and ones I wrongly assumed weren't so nice who turned out to be lovely people. It was nice to see the friendly, welcoming personalities that had developed in so many people I didn't really know in high school.
I encourage any of my fellow graduates who may have had similar feelings during high school to give the reunion a chance. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the wonderful people you will "meet"...I say "meet" because even though you may have known someone in high school by now we are all different people...20 years of life are sure to have molded us, matured us, and changed us....possibly into a future dear friend.
Thanks for your time. I look forward to June 22-24, 2007!!
Charlene Cafarelle
I do not think we could have said it any better. And Charlene, I can personally assure you that Rami is excited that you read her blog, let alone, wanted to reference her post. Hopefully this will reach those of our classmates who either have the same feelings as you and/or who were worried what others would think of what has happened in the past 20 years. Does it really matter 20 years later and do those labels still exist......We certainly hope not!
posted by Heidi & Kim at 11:03 AM
3 Comments:
Charlene--
Thank you so much for your post. Kim is right, we couldn't have said it better. I got goosebumps.
Heidi
Good job! Makes perfect since to me and hope it will encourage more people to come and get to know all the great people from the class of 1987. Leslie
I have goosebumps myself. I was one of the quiet kids in school; I doubt if most of you remember me, to be honest. The ten year reunion showed that no matter what our label was back then, we all shared ups and downs in the journey that brought us to the Ramada Inn in 1997. It saddens me to not find myself in a lot of these pictures but I'm looking forward to hearing about everyone's adventures in June!
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