ch. 10

High school graduation: a five hour ordeal that is supposed to make up for the four year ordeal that we have just had to suffer through.  Ceremony where we will be rewarded with a piece of paper and plastic cups of punch from a second-class school that can barely afford an Art department but can afford new football and softball and baseball equipment every other year, that puts its emphasis on spitting back facts that were spoon-fed to us satisfactorily. A school that rewards those that embrace conformity and shuns those that question The Man; one that teaches us, really, only one good asset that we will take into our adult years- being able to say “Do you want fries with that?” “Our President is our leader. He is not to be questioned-but only as long as he is a White Anglo-Saxon, Protestant man whose list of influences include God and his daddy.” These are the only real things that my high school has taught (or attempted to, as they wouldn’t hold me back in the futile effort to instill these ideologies into me. I think there was mention of a protest of this idea held in the teacher’s lounge- instead of burning their bras, they burned my report cards.) So, on this day that I should be planning my graduation party (a.k.a. yet another reason to get drunk out of my mind and gang-bang thirty or forty of my closest guy friends, despite the fact that many of them are at least three years younger than me.), I’m sitting in the back, Lee’s hand protectively around my shoulders, bitching.

            “I don’t see why I had to walk. Jason didn’t walk. He didn’t want to walk. He has his diploma mailed to him!”

            “Now, Lill, we’re doing this for your grandparents.” Mom chides me from the front seat.

            “But they’re not even going to be here!” I whine. Lee squeezes my knee and I turn to him. “And Lee, we’re not even going to be close to each other! I mean, you were there at practice this morning! We’re on the other side of the gym from each other.” I grimace. We had to practice graduating! We had to practice sitting in chairs, standing, walking in a straight line to a stage and then walking back and sitting back down. Excuse me, isn’t this what first grade is for? Does this tell you anything about the caliber that our future generations are going to be?