Voting, High School Politics and Duddy

Today we began 'voting' for several categories for the school yearbook. I wasn't much looking forward to it, however it's been more pleasant than I anticipated. For a start, some of the categories are hilarious (not so much the actual category, more the people nominated). Secondly, it turns out that people regard me more highly than I expected. More on that later. But the whole voting process got me thinking about how much high school is like the government/politics. I could very easily elect who I believe would be the Y11 members of government.

I mean, you have the 'popular' kids, right. Bleach blonde hair, orange tanned faces, hideous hairy Uggs and tacky false nails (BTW, if all of that makes somebody popular, the world must have gone mental) - and they're all the same. There's no originality, no character, no individuality.

Then, you have the 'nerdy' kids. Normal hair, normal faces, normal shoes, normal nails - and they're looked down on and sneered at for being, well, themselves.

In year 7, we were unintentionally and metaphorically handed a choice - either stick with the in-crowd or forge your own way. The vast majority of us milled around for a year or so, verging on the edge of our choice without fully committing. Then, year 8 came around and we all suddenly completed the transformation, as it were. I seem to have made that sound vastly more pleasant than it was, believe me, it was awful.

But to me, the whole notion of having to vote for ''best looking female'' and ''prettiest eyes'' brought back a million and one unsolved, petty problems throughout my entire school life. Of course, this isn't literal - I haven't been walking around all day punching people because they once threatened to ''make their sister iron my face'' (10 out of 10 for originality...) No, what I mean is that the slightly evil, sadistic side in everybody seems to have come out when voting in categories such as ''largest ego'' and ''biggest flirt''. The immature ones have tried to rub salt into the wounds of freshly broken up couples with ''cutest couple'' and the more ''unattractive'' among us have unfortunately been dragged into nomination for ''best female body''. I keep being told I've been repeatedly voted for in the ''most likely to become a millionaire'' category, though my form tutor told me that if the end of the world came about, I'd most definitely be there trying to save it ("most likely to save the world"). I've also been told that I've been voted for in "most likely to become Prime Minister", but I'm not that stupid...

It's nice to know that, actually, people do notice the ''nerdy'' kids. It's even nicer to know that we're noticed when it really matters. After all, we miss people for who they were once they're gone, not how beautifully false they looked.

In other news from my life, my adorable liddle Duddy was in for an operation today (she was being spayed) and I was, to say the least, a wreck over it. It all links back to my major dislike of going to the vets due to the fact that, at 12 years old, I had to make the decision to put my first rabbit (Flopsy) to sleep. He had an abcess and the vets couldn't remove it and, because he was mine, it was my decision. I could elaborate, but I won't. Anyway, Dusty's home now and she's recovering in her nice, warm hutch. Whoever or whatever it was that got her through her operation successfully (so far), thank you.

I'm going now, I have ''recommendations'' to listen to.

Au revoir, adios and doviđenja,
Rachel

PS: I love this band, and I just found a song by them that sums up this post brilliantly (click the song title for a YouTube link)
"Oh, why are we keeping score?
Cause if you’re not laughing,
Who is laughing now?
I’ve been wondering
If we stop sinking
Could we stand our ground?
And through everything we’ve learned
We’ve finally come to terms,
We are the outsiders."
The Outsiders - Needtobreathe