Llama Tell You A Story!

I was on a date recently, and talk about high school came up, as it usually does (or am I the only one talking about high school memories, like being arrested, on dates?)...so, it dawned on me that I've never written a blog post devoted to my high school history. I guess I should write a blog post about being arrested too, eh? Noted. We'll save that little gem for later.

The first high school I attended was in Fairfield, CT. It was the standard 9th through 12th grade, and it was pretty big - about 500 kids in each grade. As you probably know, CT is pretty well off in general; particularly Fairfield County. So, there were the stereotypical popular/preppy kids, the nerds, the theatre kids, artsy kids, the kids that pretended they were hippies...ya know, kind of like you'd see in a movie about high school where 35 year old actors and actresses pretend they are 17 year olds, and then there's a HUGE house party that looks like no party I've ever seen in real life because it's even more elaborate than a wedding. Oh, and Jennifer Love Hewitt is there, just like standing in the middle of the party. It was like THAT.

Anyway, there were the "cool" smokers on the corner, lots of BMWs in the parking lot, lots of sports teams, lots of dances, lots of lots of lots, etc. I had grown up in Fairfield since 2nd grade, so it was all I really knew, and this all seemed normal to me. I even got a Saab and a car phone because............duh. I was definitely not in the so-called popular crowd at this school, but I wasn't dorky either - I was comfortably in the middle. And, I liked it there. In terms of high school, I liked it. I had good friends, I learned how to get drunk after some perseverance, I was the main chorus part in some of our musical productions (a highly selective role), I used AOL like a champ when my parents weren't picking up the phone...things were good.

Thennnnnnnn, my parents decided to drop a bomb and tell my brother and me that we were going to move - in the middle of my junior year of high school! Cue the sad Ben Folds Five music and torrential rain while I sit and write in a journal on my bed with a forlorn look on my face. I'm also saying into the phone to my friend, "I know, it's just not fair! No, I guess my parents DON'T love me anymore!" Oh, sorry, I'm getting distracted as to how my life would be depicted in the movies.

My parents told us we were going to be moving to Goshen, a small, rural town in the northwest corner of CT. I was not impressed. This obviously sounded terrible. My parents were getting tired of Fairfield because it was pretentious, getting more expensive, more crowded, etc. "It will be a fun change" they said. "You'll make new friends" they said. That all sounded pretty silly. I think they were forgetting about my current friends and the fact that I liked getting drunk behind elementary schools.

I don't really remember the details in terms of how long I knew we were moving before we actually moved or how the house sales panned out, but that's probably because I was grasping at making all the memories I could before my certain and untimely death.

And so, we moved...to the middle of bumble f*ck. See ya later everyone! Come visit me never.

When we first got to our new house, I remember being shocked at how dark and quiet the street was at night. There were no street lights, electrical wires, or noises aside from nature. Nature, tee hee. What was that? The stars seemed so much brighter. It was very new but strangely nice. I was thinking, this could be ok.

That was, until I got a tour of my new high school the following day. Now, when I say the word "high school" you most likely picture a structure with walls, ceilings, and a floor like a normal person would...but, no. This special high school I would be attending was under construction, so the floors were made of cement with stains on them, and the ceiling was also undone with all the electrical wires hanging out. Gross. This high school was also regional and comprised of three towns - Warren, Morris, Goshen (so, obviously it was named "Wamogo"). Oh, and it was 6th grade through 12th grade. Benny Boy and I were back at the same school! There were like 98 kids in my grade or some comical number like that that seemed fictional. I kept wondering when Ashton was going to show up with Dax and take me to tour my REAL new high school.

Clearly, I wasn't impressed with the way the school looked, but there was also something more alarming that I had noticed before even entering. There were a couple tractors parked in the parking lot! And, no BMWs! WTF? Were these people poor?! Did they even like Dave Matthews?

During my first homeroom during my first day, I was told everyone had been "expecting me", and I was complimented on my Saab even though I told no one I drove a Saab. Ok, thanks for creeping me out immediately potential new friends. I also wore hiking books to try to make myself fit in and not appear as cool as I obviously was. They would figure out the cool thing later - I didn't need to rub it in.

I think I got high on my first day after school. Or at least the second day. See? I was making friends like my parents had hoped.

I'm typing this on a really old laptop, and now that it's been on a while, it's getting super hot and has started to emit a strange smell (I swear, it's not me). I hope it doesn't explode before I finish this important post.

So anyway, in an effort not to ramble on, that was the basic gist of it all. I ended up liking Goshen a lot because it was so different from Fairfield. It was beautiful and scenic, and I made some really good friends along the way. One turned out to be my very best friend in the world. Don't get me wrong, it took me a while to adjust. High school is freaking tough even when you're not forced to move in the middle of the school year to somewhere so different. But, looking back at it at the ripe age of 31, it was a great experience.

FUUUUCK, I forgot to mention the llamas - the whole subject line of this post. I am SO smart. At Wamogo, there were llamas chillin at the back of the school. Ya know, because that's a normal thing to have at a normal high school. I was solving complex mathematical equations while the Ag kids got to pet llamas all day. So unfair.

Ok, that is all :)