Blueberries and Spinach 

People make mistakes in high school. These mistakes can be anything from dying your hair pink to ditching a class to commenting “ew your shoes'' under a peer's Instagram post. Although these mistakes can often become valuable lessons that build on one’s character, they can also cause damage to their community.

Los Angeles is the first place I ever traveled to at six weeks old. When I think of LA, I think of a home away from home. I think of going hiking in Malibu, I think of going to Disneyland for a day and riding space mountain, and I think of playing catch on sunny days in the pool.  More often than not people think of Hollywood; Hollywood is exciting because of all the movies and tv shows being created although these movies are a fantasy, not a reality. 

 Who does not love Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl? I know that I did and still do. Who does not want to be a straight-A high school student that lives in a two-story lavish penthouse and has unlimited money to spend at Bergdorfs, all while throwing parties on the rooftop of the top sushi restaurants in New York. Although she is quite a compelling character she is also manipulative and deceptive. She banished a girl from ever coming back to the Upper East Side, she tried to get her teacher fired for sleeping with an underage student and told people that her best friend was a drug addict and murderer. 

According to a study done at the University of Pennsylvania, “Teenagers often learn from TV and movies as they’re navigating uncharted waters like gender roles or how to behave in relationships.” Therefore girls may be more inclined to bully each other to try and be like Blair. When negative characters are shown on the screen it can have a negative influence on teenagers and their actions. 

 Bullying does not just have to be the stereotypical ways we see in movies, it can also be subtle. Exclusion from activities in high school such as not letting someone join the group warmup for soccer because “there are too many people in this group already” or socially isolating one by using their body language to close off the circle at a lunch table or while standing so no one else can join the conversation, or manipulating one into changing who they are. StopBullying.gov notes that 20% of students ages 12-18 experience bullying and 56% of these bullying cases said that those who bullied them influenced them to change others' perceptions of them. Personally, my reason for bullying was out of fear and anxiety. Looking back anytime I have bullied someone in any form I have felt horrible. When I lie asleep at night my chest pounds and my stomach feels empty with feelings of regret.  I imagine what I could have done differently and then replay the situation over and over in my head. It’s funny how the person I bullied is now one of my best friends and I consider them to be one of the most genuine caring people I know. 

The first high school movie came out in 1955, it was called Rebel Without a Cause. Movie critics have called the 50’s “the decade belonging to teenagers.” The ’50s were when the concept of adolescents started to become a thing. People started to understand the difficulties and lifestyle that come with adolescence. Rebel Without a Cause explores the misunderstood youth and sheds light on the frustrations among teenagers. 

 Mean Girls the classic depiction of high school mean girls is about “the plastics” a group of three girls, Regina, Gretchen, and Karen who befriend the new girl Cady. These girls manipulate and backstab each other all for what? To become popular? To get the boy they want? Or does it just make them happy and entertained? In the end, they all go their separate ways and realize what a mistake the bullying was. This movie is all focused on girls and even gives a deeper read into Cady's thoughts as she makes her decisions to bully, but in the boy world, bullying looks a lot different. 

 I remember riding bikes at sunset with my dad as a little girl and seeing people roller skating and running on the pier while seagulls glazed across the ocean. I remember seeing a long line of people waiting for their protein smoothies as a blender chopped up blueberries and spinach. My dad would tell me stories of what it was like going to college in LA. He said that, “college was the best time of [his] life”  and that he “started [his] own fraternity with [his]  best friend.” He also told me about all the trends LA has started, like rollerblading, but then everywhere else in America began rollerblading as well. He also told me that Nickelodeon, the channel I had watched on weekends with my friends, became popular because of LA. The most intriguing LA nuance he told me about had to do with hot new restaurants: the hostesses would pretend that it was impossible to get in and there would be no reservations. Although there would be plenty of space. It created desire, hype, and exclusion from the restaurant. This reminded me of the restaurant Mr. Chow in LA and how they do not give people menus. Anyone dining there should be a regular and part of the elite who knows the menu by heart. No one would ever want to create the image that they didn’t know to order the “Mr. Chow noodles.” 

Who could forget James Dean with his white t-shirt, jacket, and the casual accessory of a cigarette, all while giving off a cool but laid back teenager vibe? No one could forget his appearance and the mark this cultural icon left.  Other characters' wardrobes such as Danny Zuko in Grease and Edward Cullen in Twilight were inspired by Dean. He shed light on American teenagers and spoke to their frustrations. Unfortunately, he died at the young age of 24 due to a car crash in 1955, the same year his classic movie Rebel Without a Cause was released. Perhaps playing a rebel caused him to rebel too much in his own life.   

Ten missed calls, “I don’t want to go tonight, can we please just go to dinner instead”. The panic and anxiety I felt when I woke up on the Saturday morning of my sophomore homecoming. I did not want to go nor did my friends. I hated the click of my heels on the floor as I walked into the room, it felt as if they drew every eye towards me I hated the awkwardness and tension that was felt in the room. I hated the pounding in my chest that started two weeks before. Ongoing feelings of anxiety are what lead me to be “Regina George” for the weekend and of course, one girl saying “He’s so weird everyone hates him”. 

In the 1984 version of The Karate Kid, the new kid Daniel moves from New Jersey to Los Angeles. As soon as he gets there he is bullied by a group of “Karate kids.” The first time Daniel gets beat up and is bleeding and wounded on the cement, his pain can be felt through the TV as he is lying down in pain. He gets stronger as he trains to beat the bullies. All he did was like a girl and he ended up getting beat up for it. Psychologists have found that “People bully because it can be an effective way of getting what they want, at least in the short term, and because they lack the social skills to do so without harming others.” This was the case in the Karate kid; the bully” Johnny” liked the girl as well and wanted Daniel to stay away. By bullying him it worked in the short term to get him to stay away from her.

 Of course, the problem was who was getting ready with who before homecoming. I did not want to walk in with Andrew* because I always felt like people judged me when I was with him. Even though they probably do not even notice but back then that's what it felt like. Therefore, I purposely excluded him from my friends pre-homecoming party. Not only did I do that but I made my friends leave homecoming without telling Adrew. After all this drama and back and forward of who was going with whom to homecoming, the showdown was at Ghirardelli's ice cream shop. All of us were so angry and hurt that we ended up yelling at each other. I feel bad that 10 screaming, high school girls disturbed the peaceful couples on date night, sharing ice cream sundaes. Maybe it reminded them of their own high school drama.  The table was split into two sides, the good and the evil. One can only guess what side I was on. Four girls sat on the “evil” side with me and four on “the good.” All wedged between us two gigantic sundaes. One with chocolate ice cream and hot sauce and bits of chocolate peeking through, while the other was vanilla ice cream and had caramel sauce dripping down. The chocolate icecream felt perfect for my side of the table, while the vanilla was meant for the "angel” side. Caroline* could not understand why I had been such a “mean girl” and excluded Andrew. She did not understand that it was because my anxiety was that bad and not because I was truly a bad person. She thought I was horrible for excluding him when she had excluded thousands of people before with no reasoning at all, which made me enraged. 

The probability of running into a celebrity in LA is probably greater than anywhere else in the world because that is where a majority of them live. Although most of my luck seeing celebrities has not been in LA, like when I saw Kim Kardashian and Kayne West in Aspen, Colorado. Whenever I tell people I met Kim Kardashian they ask one of two questions, “was she nice?” and “is her butt that big” My answer to both is “yes.” Although beauty is all an opinion, I think she looks good in photos but just as good in person. Her body and look might be attractive but it is unrealistic. People are not born like that but are still so obsessed with creating a “Kim Kardashian” like appearance. In 2018 statistics showed that “nearly 18 million people received plastic surgery and cosmetic enhancements.” Dr. Dennis Schimpf believes this increase in plastic surgery is due to “cell phones, selfies, and social media platforms.” Girls see influencers like Kim Kardashian and strive to look like this. 

 A year later Caroline, Andrew, and I all hung out the night of junior homecoming like nothing had ever happened. We sat at a big-bowl eating our sesame chicken and argued about who got the best fortune in their cookie. We made fun of the situation and have all been friends since. Whoever does not care about their appearance I praise you because I am sure you are 10 times happier than everyone else just being content with yourself.