facebook gone bad

i am inexplicably annoyed this morning.

well, it's not exactly "inexplicable." i know why i'm pissed off, but it's so silly and petty, and i really need to just take a deep breath, count my blessings, and move on.

yesterday, i accepted a friend request on facebook from a guy in high school whose name i remembered, but i didn't necessarily remember the person. whenever i get these requests, i immediately check out our "mutual friends," and if there are enough of them, i generally accept. i don't have an exact number that qualifies as "enough," i just wing it.

and this morning, i look at my facebook wall and see a post from him. it said, and i quote:

"Hold up.... you're a 1989 Graduate?! wait...didn't you dropped-out of HighSchool?"

WTF?? asshole.

now, some back story. this is one of the few things that is a sore subject for me, which explains why such an idiotic post made me see red. okay, here goes:

as i was growing up, i faced the sucky challenge of being the new kid in school a lot. we moved quite a few times, and i found myself having to work my way into the already-formed cliques numerous times. it bit ass in the worst way, but i dealt with it as best as i could. i always envied the other kids who'd built relationships with each other from kindergarten, and wished i had buddies like that.

when we moved to southern california, we lived with a boatload of relatives who were sharing a small 2-bedroom apartment. it was kind of crazy - there were probably ten of us there at a time, but as time went by and people found jobs and homes, the number lessened a bit. i spent third grade at a "primary" (K-3rd) school there, where i again was the new kid who had to start from scratch. i made some friends, only to find that we were going to move yet again - this time into a brand new house that wasn't yet built, in a city about 20 minutes away. and this time, i was a little more into it because my folks let me pick out which of the models we ultimately chose. i felt like i'd actually helped make a major decision, yay!

to make a long story short, that school district was the one that i was able to stay in for a good long while. and i made the most friends there - going from the tail end of elementary school through middle school (although i did spend a semester at another school due to another [temporary] move), and then those critical years began: high school.

i had such a great time as a freshman - meeting new people, changing classes, going to games and dances. sophomore year was fun, too, and about halfway through i met the now-ex - my first ever boyfriend. and towards the end of that year, i fulfilled a childhood dream: i tried out for and made the varsity cheerleading squad. i was so freaking proud, and totally excited.

one of my friends wasn't quite as enthralled with high school life as i was. she hated every aspect of it, and one day she showed me a brochure for the state proficiency test that she'd signed up for. passing the exam would prove that she was at the same level as a graduating senior, allowing her to leave school as long as she had her parents' consent. i thought she was effing nuts. no way was i even going to consider leaving high school early! junior year was going to be fucking sweet - i couldn't wait to rock that cheer uniform and perform at the games, AND i had a cute boyfriend. life was grand.

and then, over christmas break...we moved. again. i was so damn bitter, and looking back, i realize that contributed to how much my life at the new school blew. my thoughts were completely consumed with the life i'd left and desperately wanted back, and got in the way of my usual schtick: making the best of the situation i was in.

i was so miserable - until i remembered my friend and her exam. she'd passed, and was so much happier, out of high school and attending classes at the local junior college. i went right to my counselor's office and scooped up the information and application for that test.

you can guess what happened next - i passed. and i got the hell outta dodge as soon as i got those results in the mail.

i've never regretted it, but i will confess that i wish i'd had the chance to be a senior in high school. i wish i could've done all the fun stuff - getting out of school early because i didn't need to take six full classes, driving in a car with my friends, hanging out, prom, graduation. when i let myself, i still get a little bummed out from missing out on those things - the rites of passage that most kids get to experience before growing up and facing real life.

funny, though - i helped plan and attended the ten-year reunion for my "real" class and learned that a lot of people didn't even realize that i hadn't graduated with them. huh. i was pretty memorable, all right. oh, yeah.

and now, i'm helping plan our 20-year reunion (yikes, my ass is elderly). we've found a lot of people using facebook, which is cool, until i get messages like that poorly-written, uninformed one. i couldn't help it - i wrote back with a totally snarky but polite response, seething the entire time.

overreaction? probably. do i give a shit now? not so much. muahahahahaha!