“When I first thought of the idea for 'Sweet Valley High,' I loved the idea of high school as microcosm of the real world. And what I really liked was how it moved things on from 'Sleeping Beauty'-esque romance novels where the girl had to wait for the hero. This would be girl-driven, very different, I decided - and indeed it is.” WorldFirstsIdeasDifferentRealWould BeSchoolRomanceGirlWaitingSleepNovelSweetHeroHigh SchoolDecidedMovedDrivenReal WorldValleysRomance NovelMicrocosmSleeping Beauty Author:Francine Pascal
“I wanted to be a marine biologist my whole life until I graduated high school. And even now, I'm still like, 'Maybe I'll just quit the biz and go to Santa Cruz and study marine biology and have my own research center in the Bahamas.' Yeah, I'm sure it would be just that smooth.” StillsWholeWould BeWantedSchoolMy OwnStudyResearchHigh SchoolYeahWhole LifeQuittingBiologySmoothMarineSantaBiologistCruzMarine LifeBahamasMarine BiologyMarine BiologistSanta Cruz Author:Cobie Smulders
“If there's a character type I despise, it's the all-capable, all-knowing, physically perfect protagonist. My idea of hell would be to be trapped in a four-hundred page, first-person, first-tense, running monologue with a character like that. I think writers who produce characters along those lines should graduate from high school and move on.” IfsThinkingShouldWritingFirstsPersonsIdeasCharacterWould BeRunningSchoolMovingLinesPerfectHellKnowingFourProduceTypePagesCapableHundredHigh SchoolDespiseGraduatesTrappedTenseFirst PersonProtagonistsMonologuesGraduating High School Author:Craig Johnson
“I wanted to wear a uniform when I was in high school, but I couldn't. I was like, "It would be so much easier!"” Would BeWantedSchoolEasierHigh SchoolUniforms Author:Taylor Schilling
“I didn't like school. I was pretty much daydreaming all the time. I would be in the back of the class writing down random stories and stuff that would have nothing to do with school. I only lasted two years in high school before I moved out to L.A.” WritingYearsTwoStoriesWould BeSchoolStuffClassHigh SchoolMovedTwo YearsDaydreaming Author:Charlie McDermott
“I did my fair share of stupid stuff in high school, like anyone. I had a healthy fear of my parents, and I certainly never wanted to disappoint them. That would be the worst thing I could ever do.” Would BeWantedSchoolStuffParentShareWorstStupidHealthyHigh SchoolFairsWorst ThingsDisappointFair ShareHealthy Fear Author:Christine Lakin
“The world would be entirely different if it were run by women. I think it is true that we are more seeking consensus and don't have such big egos and have a variety of different ways of trying to get along. But anybody who says that the world would be better has forgotten high school. It depends on who the women are.” IfsThinkingWorldWayTryingDifferentBigsWould BeRunningSchoolDependsEgoHigh SchoolForgottenSeekingVarietyDifferent WaysConsensusBig Ego Author:Madeleine Albright
“Parents don't get that, though. They don't understand about the fragility of teen friendships. They don't understand how easy it is for things to break apart, how someone you thought would be by your side forever can just disappear, or turn on you, or decide she likes someone more than she likes you. Parents always talk about romantic relationships being so ephemeral and fleeting in high school. What they don't get is that friendships can be the same way.” WayWould BeSchoolTurnsEasyParentSidesBreakForeverHigh SchoolDisappearLikesFleetingTurn-onYour SideEphemeralFragilityRomantic Relationship Book:The Thing About the Truth Source: The Thing About the Truth
“In my early childhood, I was a performer by nature. I used to do puppet shows as a kid and entertain kids in classes and the teachers would make it a point that I was the entertainer of the class, but only after high school and in college that I started doing theater and acting classes, because I thought it would be fun.” ShowsWould BeKidsSchoolUsedFunActingClassTeacherChildhoodCollegeHigh SchoolTheaterPerformersEntertainersPuppetsEarly ChildhoodActing ClassesAfter High SchoolPuppet Shows Author:Michael Jai White
“I've been singing my whole life. I'd randomly sing in the hallways at high school, and all my friends would be like, 'You should sing on 'Canadian Idol'!" It definitely gassed me!” ShouldWholeWould BeSchoolLike YouSingingHigh SchoolMy FriendsWhole LifeIdolsHallways Author:The Weeknd
“After I graduated from high school, one of the former workers on our farm asked if I would be willing to join him in selling Fuller brushes through the summer. It seemed like a perfect way to make some money for college. And being away from my parents and learning to make my own way gave me self confidence.” IfsWaySelfWould BeSchoolParentMy OwnPerfectCollegeWillingSummerHigh SchoolWorkersSelf ConfidenceSellingFormerFarmsBrushes Author:Billy Graham
“Everything in high school was reversed. If marijuana was supposed to make you mellow, I would be like, "The cops, the cops, the cops..." I was what you call the buzz kill.” IfsWould BeSchoolHigh SchoolMarijuanaCopBuzzMellow Author:Val Kilmer
“One of the biggest challenges in investing is that the opportunity set available today is not the complete opportunity set that should be considered. Limiting your opportunity set to the one immediately at hand would be like limiting your spouse to the students you met in high school” ShouldHandsWould BeTodaySchoolOpportunityChallengesStudentsMetsHigh SchoolInvestingAvailableSpouse Author:Seth Klarman
“I wanted to be a filmmaker, actually, when I was in high school and college. But I just decided it would be more expensive to do, so I sort of decided music would be more fun.” Would BeWantedSchoolFunCollegeHigh SchoolDecidedFilmmakerExpensive Author:Will Sheff
“It's as interesting to me as someday getting to play in some beautiful period piece where the costumes are from a completely different era. This feels as extreme as that, and that's really liberating. It's really liberating to just go 180 from what my life is like. I love that! I love not having to think about clothes. I wanted to wear a uniform when I was in high school, but I couldn't. I was like, "It would be so much easier!"” ThinkingFeelsDifferentPlayWould BeWantedSchoolBeautifulLife IsInterestingPiecesPeriodsEasierClothesHigh SchoolExtremesErasSomedayUniformsCostumesLiberatingLife Is LikeDifferent Eras Author:Taylor Schilling
“I was very interested in politics in college and was heading to be a lawyer. I have a degree in economics and I was interested in it. I hadn't really gotten super serious about it and I'd done a lot of student politics in high school. I really think it would be interesting and fun and challenging to go into politics.” ThinkingDoneWould BeSchoolFunChallengesInterestingStudentsCollegeSeriousDegreesHigh SchoolEconomicsLawyerHeadings Author:Jay Roach
“I think kids should go to high school until they're 30. No, really, because people are staying younger now and there's nothing to do. If you stayed longer, then it would be really great.” PeopleIfsThinkingShouldWould BeKidsSchoolHigh SchoolStayingReally Great Author:Andy Warhol
“I listened to my first comedy album in 6th grade. It was Bill Cosby. My brother and I would play it over and over on a Fisher Price record player. A friend in high school also introduced me to Richard Pryor. I wasn't writing material back then, but I would say funny stuff. I was good at making fun of people's moms. If I knew something personal about you, it would be used against you.” PeopleIfsWritingFirstsPlayWould BeSchoolUsedFunStuffRecordsComedyPlayerBrotherMaterialsMomHigh SchoolBillsAlbumsMy BrotherGradesFunny StuffRecord Players Author:Felipe Esparza
“I think it would be cute to marry your high school sweetheart, but I think it would also be nice to be sitting on a plane with somebody who lives across the world from you.” ThinkingWorldWould BeSchoolNiceHigh SchoolSittingPlanesCuteBeing NiceSweetheart Author:Shay Mitchell
“There's certain classes you have to take, certain things you have to do, certain money you must have. Then, if you listen to the counselors and social workers and everybody else talking at you, you would think that once you got out of high school and college, life would be beautiful. But it's not.” IfsThinkingWould BeSchoolBeautifulCertainSocialTalkingClassCollegeHigh SchoolWorkersSocial WorkerCounselorCollege Life Author:Snoop Dogg
“When I was in high school... I loved the outdoors, and I was introduced to wilderness camping. I was in a little prep school - a boarding school in southern California, in Ojai - and when I was in this school, they had a camping program, and there would be regular trips: hikes into the mountains, the Sierras, the Sespe River Valley, and different places.” LittlesDifferentWould BeSchoolMountainHigh SchoolProgramRiversCaliforniaWildernessValleysSouthernDifferent PlaceCampingSierraPrepsSouthern California Author:Keith Carradine
“I was on a TV show when I was 13, and I had a tutor for high school. Everyone was like "Oh, you're missing out on the high school experience," so I'd go with my cousins to parties where there would be a keg and people doing body shots and playing quarters. I was like, What a waste of time. I didn't want to be doing E [ecstasy] and making out with a guy three years older than me who's a loser.” PeopleWantYearsShowsBodyWould BeSchoolGuyThreePartyMissingTvsWasteHigh SchoolShotsEcstasyLoserQuartersWasting TimeThree YearsTv ShowsCousinMy CousinMissing OutTutorKegsSchool Experience Author:Jessica Alba
“In all honesty, based on the direction my life was heading in before I got a real break in the music sh*t, I'm not gonna say I would be one hundred percent in a negative direction, but I know that I would still be in the streets, so if it wasn't for the music bein' my outlet, I'd probably be hustlin', I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to go and get a nine-to-five, I never finished high school or none of that.” IfsKnowsStillsRealWould BeAbleSchoolBreakFiveStreetsHonestyMusic IsPercentHundredHigh SchoolNegativeFinishedNineOutletsHeadings Author:Nipsey Hussle
“I think the mild Aspergers have always been there. You see, Asperger's diagnosis did not become common in the U.S. until the early '90s. And an Aspergers has more or less normal speech development and they've always been here, that hasn't changed. I can think back to when I was in high school, this is 40 years ago, I could name kids in my high school class and college class that, today, would be diagnosed as Aspergers.” ThinkingYearsI CanWould BeKidsTodaySchoolNamesCommonClassChangedCollegeDevelopmentSpeechNormalHigh SchoolYears AgoDiagnosisAspergersHigh School Class Author:Temple Grandin
“Like, in high school, I was a good student and got straight As. It was very strict and you couldn't do well there unless you studied very hard, but every time there was any trouble, I was the first person they would be talking to.” FirstsWellsPersonsHardWould BeSchoolTimeLiteratureTalkingTroubleStudentsHigh SchoolStrictFirst PersonGood Students Author:Elizabeth Wurtzel
“You do not know me, but I am a juvenile delinquent. I do not trust authority figures, I probably will not graduate from high school, and statistics say my present rowdiness and vandalism will likely lead to more serious crimes. I am a dangerous fellow, and I am causing mayhem in this store. [...] There. I have now shamelessly destroyed the symmetry of this shelf, undoing hours of labor by underpaid store employees. If you could see me, you would be frightened.” IfsKnowsWould BeSchoolHoursDangerousCrimeFiguresSeriousAuthorityHigh SchoolLaborFellowsStoresDestroyedEmployeeStatisticsFrightenedGraduatesKnow MeShelvesSymmetryJuvenileUndoingMayhemDelinquentsGraduating High SchoolVandalismUnderpaidAuthority Figures Author:Katherine Applegate
“NEW RULE: 'Kidiots' Leave the children behind. At least until they learn something. A new study has shown that half of American high schools agree that newspapers should only be able to publish government-approved material. Almost one out of five said people should not be allowed to voice unpopular opinions..This is the first generation after September 11th, who discovered news during a 'watch what you say' administration...George W. Bush once asked, 'is our children learning.' No, they isn't. A better question would be, 'is our teacher's teaching?” PeopleShouldFirstsChildrenSaidGovernmentWould BeAbleSchoolVoiceBehindsHalfOpinionWatchesStudyFiveTeacherGenerationsTeachingMaterialsNewsHigh SchoolOur ChildrenAgreeNewspapersAdministrationSeptemberPublishApprovedChildren LearningSeptember 11th Author:Bill Maher
“The same old dumb teachers teaching the same old dumb subjects in the same old dumb school. I seem to be kind of losing interest in everything. At first I thought high school would be fun but it's just dull. Everything's dull. Maybe it's because I'm growing up and life is becoming more blase.” FirstsKindSeemsWould BeSchoolLife IsFunInterestGrowing UpTeacherGrowingTeachingSubjectsBecomingLosingHigh SchoolDumbDullBe KindBecoming MoreLosing Interest Author:Beatrice Sparks
“She would be a mentor and an inspiration to girls like herself, the quiet ones who'd sleepwalked their way through high school, knowing nothing except that they couldn't possibly be happy with any of the choices the world seemed to be offering them.” WorldWayLifeInspirationWould BeSchoolChoicesGirlKnowingQuietHigh SchoolOfferingMentorKnowing Nothing Book:Little Children: A Novel Source: Little Children: A Novel
“Well I do think, when there are more women, that the tone of the conversation changes, and also the goals of the conversation change. But it doesn't mean that the whole world would be a lot better if it were totally run by women. If you think that, you've forgotten high school.” IfsThinkingWorldWellsMeanWholeWould BeRunningSchoolGoalConversationHigh SchoolForgottenWhole WorldToneSetting Goals Author:Madeleine Albright
“The Summer after high school, when we first met, we make out in your Mustang, to Radiohead, and on my 18th birthday, we got matching tattoes, Used to steal your parents liquor, then climb to the roof, Talk about our future like we had a clue, Never thought I'd wondering I'd be losing you In another life, I would be your belle” FirstsWould BeSchoolUsedParentWonderMetsSummerLosingHigh SchoolStealingClimbsOur FutureRoofClueLiquorAnother LifeMake OutMatchingBelleRadioheadAfter High SchoolLife After High SchoolMustang18th Birthday Author:Katy Perry
“Since this was a formal undead gathering, there would be food—all kinds—drinks, dancing, and festivities, while those in power pondered whether or not to slaughter half the people around them. In other words, like a high-school prom.” PeopleKindWould BeSchoolHalfDrinkHigh SchoolDancingAll KindsFormalGatheringSlaughterPromUndeadFestivities Author:Jeaniene Frost
“If Eastlake High School were the universe, I would be one of the moons circling Planet Emma, constantly hidden by her shadow, and glad to be there. Nash Hudson would be one of the stars: too bright to look at, too hot to touch and at the center of his own solar system.” IfsLooksWould BeSchoolUniverseStarsPlanetsMoonHigh SchoolShadowHotGladSolar SystemEmma Book:My Soul to Take Source: My Soul to Take
“When my pals in high school were starting to drink, it always looked unappealing to me. I would be at a big party and see one of the popular girls or football players completely wasted and puking and acting a fool, and think to myself, there is nothing cool about that. I never wanted to be that out of control.” ThinkingBigsWould BeWantedSchoolGirlPartyActingPlayerFootballFoolDrinkHigh SchoolStartingDrunkennessFootball PlayerPalsPopular Girl Author:Kathy Griffin
“I hate mirrors; every time I look in one I see things that could be improved. If I could give my younger self any advice it would be: ‘Take a deep breath, the world is not ending – and do something with your hair.’ I had the same haircut from when I was a toddler all the way through high school, it was this weird side-parting. I didn’t like change.” IfsWorldWayGivingLooksSelfWould BeSchoolHateSidesAdviceHairHigh SchoolI HateBreathsMirrorsIf I CouldPartingDeep BreathHaircutsToddlerTake A Deep BreathYounger Self Author:Chris Colfer