What was your favorite school year and what made it so?

Most people say their Senior year was their favorite school year of all time. Maybe it is because they worked hard, and by their Senior year, they could coast a bit.  Maybe it is because they were a bit older by their Senior year, and had access to a car, and all the new found freedom that entails. For a lot of people, their Senior year meant finding their first serious relationship. OK, those are all good reasons. If I were going to choose Senior year as my favorite, they would be good reasons for me too. But senior year was not my favorite.

     Don't we all want to "belong"? How many of us ostrasized others, just because we were “Seniors”? Once you got a taste of “power”, that feeling you were somehow better or more deserving than the others, how did you treat them?  Did your behavior extend to others that you felt were beneath your social status?   I’m here to tell you, it did.  You were cruel. You acted as if you were more deserving than those who weren't the best athletes, or wore thick glasses, or didn' t have designer clothes, or whatever other lame excuse you could think of. OK, you may have been richer, or prettier, or better built, or a better athlete.  Maybe you thought you were smarter. None of that excuses the cliques, or the cruelty. If you can look back on all that and still say it was your favorite, shame on you.

     For a lot of people, me included, High school was a necessary evil to be endured.  Maybe I am guilty of the same things, and I just don't realize it.  At least I am adult enough to admit it. Nope, I think I will say Kindergarten was my favorite.  We were only 5.  Too naïve for social status.  Too little to be cruel to the other kids yet.  Pretty much everybody got invited to everything, and was included in everything. Mom saw to it that I could read when I got to Kindergarten, so classwork was pretty easy too, as long as I didn’t have to color within the lines too often.  Before too long, the social ladder would appear and we would all struggle for our place on it, but for that one glorious year, we were all 5, happy, and friends.  Yep, gimme Kindergarten anytime.