The Natatorium

An emporium of oddities from around the world, complete with somewhat informative plaques that almost never match the item they are meant to be describing.

Thursday, October 30, 2003

So... remember that friend who "dumped" me? Well, apparently his "new friends" are getting freaked out by his bizarre behavior while intoxicated, and don't really want to be around him so much anymore. Huh. Couldn't have seen *that* coming. I was in Psych class the other day, and realized (in psych terms) what exactly his situation is... it has to do with Erikson's adolescent identity theory. As in, an adolescent must either: a) find/form at least a sketch of an identity or b) end up with "role confusion". The description of someone with "role confusion" fits him to a T. Perfectly. And my pscyh teacher said that people who have not found an identity (i.e. role confused) are classified as having a psychological disorder. It almost makes me want to call his shrink, but I'm sure she's figured out what his deal is by now. It just doesn't seem to be helping. From just seeing him in passing and hearing about him, he's getting weirder and weirder, apparently. I hope someone can help him.

High School Escapades:

We had the whole "senior panoramic picture" thingy today, which of course meant that the "SENIORS!!" had to wear their cute little matching tee-shirts today. Apparently I wasn't the only one annoyed. For those of you who don't know, "SENIORS!!" is a term we apply to a certain group of senior girls (about 20 or so of them) who design and order (not make at home, design and order) matching tee-shirts that say "Seniors '04" on the front in pretty letters and then have some really bad poem about friends and memories and partying on the back. This year the shirts are hot pink.

Now, don't get me wrong. I don't have a problem with most of these "SENIORS!!" I know several of them personally, and most of them are very nice people. I also don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with getting matching tee-shirts for you and your friends... as a matter of fact, I kinda want to do that; it looks fun, though I'm sure I could be a bit more creative. The problem is that it's become a weird pseudo-social-status symbol. It's done every single year; the "popular" girls all get matching shirts that say "SENIORS!!" or something to the effect. At my school, there is definitely not much of a pronounced social hierarchy. There are pronounced groups of friends, but they aren't impenetrable or catty, and for the most part, everyone is very friendly to everyone on an individual basis. I like that about my school. It's just that when the shirts say "SENIORS!!" but are limited to a very small minority of the senior class it kind of makes people feel... shafted. Like they're saying "We're the cool ones in the senior class, so we get tee-shirts and you don't." I dunno. That probably sounds stupid, but I bet most of you can see where I'm coming from.

Anyway, it's not just me. My whole Calculus class was talking about it (yes, I know you're all laughing now-- the Calculus class, i.e. nerds, were all upset. But we're not nerds. We're just smarter.). By the way, none of the "SENIORS!!" are in Calculus, but about half of them are in Yearbook. Anyway, the math nerds ::ahem:: I mean smart people were even thinking of getting shirts that say "math nerds" (as a joke) or something. I suggested to my friends that we get black shirts with plain white text that says, "Seniors. We have matching shirts because we're cooler than you." and yet *another* group of my friends was thinking earlier this year about getting shirts that say "Friends With Benefits" because, well, we're co-ed... though not as sexed-up as we may sound. Or else, not sexed-up at all... I think the innuendo was a joke of some sort... What I'm saying is, it looks like we could be in the early stages of what could escalate to an all-out Shirt War.


Tomorrow is Senior Skip Day. Whatever. I'm going because I can't miss Calculus. At least the halls should be less crowded. Tomorrow is also "super hero day", so since I'm wearing my Teen Girl Squad costume to my cousin's party, I'm going to wear my blue medieval dress to school tomorrow and say I'm... Fairy Girl? Renaissance Woman? Old Fashioned Justice Queen? I don't know, help me out here!

Oh, and did you know that personal grooming (putting on makeup, tying up hair) is UNACCEPTABLE in a public place. Apparently so. My English teacher made a big speech about it today because people were preening for the class "panoramic picture". A few minutes later, my lips were very dry, so I was putting on some CLEAR CHAP STICK when she spotted me. "Personal grooming is unacceptable!!!" quoth she, to which I meekly replied, "Uhm.. it's just Chap Stick. My lips were--" "Fine, fine, it's medicinal! Fine!" she conceded. A few people told me later in the day that I was their hero for saying that, but really, I was just stating my case. I know "personal grooming" in public used to be very, very, *VERY* taboo, in like, the 50's, but..... it just isn't now. Not in class. Maybe at a board room meeting, or a fancy dinner, but not in 1st period English. Especially if you can get it over with in less than 2 minutes, which most people can. I'll admit, girls who sit there putting on makeup, eyeliner and all, for the entire 90 minute class period are a little weird and gross, but come on, a quick swipe of lip gloss? A little lip gloss never hurt *anyone*. I think I'm just going to buy her some lip gloss, so she too can know the joy. I bet that's it. All she needs is a little lip gloss.

That's all. Peace out.