Girl Meets (the Real) World

By: Emma Esrock

High school. Maybe you think fondly back to those years of awakening, or maybe the slamming of lockers is enough to trigger PTSD. Last week, a few of us walked into a local San Francisco high school on a beautiful, sunny afternoon and were instantly brought back a few years to the era of parent hating, hormones and homecoming.

Besides evoking massive nostalgia, our goal for the day was to help high school juniors with their personal statements for college applications. Their teacher told us the challenge would be getting the kids to be introspective. While high school kids (and really millennials) have no problem taking extraordinary amounts of selfies, we’re stumped when asked to figure out what makes us tick. And there’s no filter for that.

The two students I worked with were not initially pleased to be there. They strutted in and side-eyed me like I was some old lady (while I’m approaching my 24th birthday, I have only one gray hair, thank you very much). I learned they were dating and just had a “big” fight — and they learned I wasn’t a she-devil.

Cory and Topanga** told me about their lives, their hopes and how they inspire one another. They really struggled with the question, “What does your family admire about you?”

That call to think about oneself in a deeper, non-140-character dive made them both recoil. Topanga said she didn’t know. I told her I noticed immediately when she walked in the room that she seemed driven but stubborn. She laughed and sheepishly admitted that I nailed it. Cory was a bit harder to read and felt more comfortable talking about himself in the context of a basketball court and on the football field.

When our session ended, we were all laughing. They agreed that I wasn’t so bad and the exercise wasn’t the worst. We didn’t sing “Kumbaya,” and Topanga might have ignored me when I waved goodbye to her, but I considered it progress.

The LS volunteers (a fantastic group consisting of Lindsey Scott, Tessa Greenwood, Andrew Steichen, Cat Ku, Kelsey Nelson, Nikki Garcia, Emily Busse and Claire Schillings, organized by Natalia Ostrowski) walked out of the school feeling awesome. Sometimes, it takes reliving the dramas of high school to make you appreciate the present. And while I truly look back at my days at my high school with fondness, I’m loving my days at LaunchSquad with equal intensity.

**names have been changed to protect the privacy of students