The Two Sides Of The Mind

When I entered teendom, I was overlyconfident. I felt that I had complete control of my surroundings. Well, I was wrong. High school life can be overwhelming (not perfect "everything works itself out, I CAN DO IT" like in high school muscial- HSM for short- blech. bad movie.) Anyways, every Monday we have "talk day" in advisory class. And EVERY MONDAY kids talk about friends and dinners and crap. And I just think "why aren't I doing that?" "Why aren't I a prototypical teen?" Here's the deal. Lots of teens aren't who they're made out to be. I have a friend who's an absolute genius capabe of great things and discoveries. She spends lots of time home, not out and about. I have a friend who's a brilliant artist and writer, I'm in love with her. I have a friend who is extremely kind, considerate and forgiving, the nicest person I have ever met. I have a friend who's funny, easygoing, and calm. All these people are great fun without having to go see them every weekend. Me? I'm a total geek. I know it, and I'm proud of it. The jocks and preps can crack all the jokes they want. I used to think they were having all the fun. But high school isn't all about parties and booze and relationships and the like. It's not about living it up 'cause these are the best years of your life. A couple months ago, I ran into a problem. My friend was throwing a party. Lots of people coming, said it'd be fun. However, his parents were out of town. Didn't seem like a problem to me, so I kept quiet. The night of the party I got no conformation, so I didn't go (later on I learned it had been cancelled, not the point.) So, me and my dad went out to my favorite bar/grill for some wings and a movie. We talked about the situation and he smiled on hearing about the absence of parents. My father is a stern man at times. Stern, but fair. (Inside joke). Parents are smart people. They know things. I learned that night that parties without parents are not meant for high school students. Yes, that sounded extraordinairly geekish, but it's the real deal. You gotta put your thrill-seeking half aside sometimes and think "Is this safe? What's the risk?" It's been said 1,000 times but is true: Better safe than sorry.