i didn't know whether i should be passionate about life, or just have fun. the teen years were the wonder years, and they were confusing years too. certainly stereotypical, but we didn't talk about it. we lived to fight the stereotype and defy mothers and fathers. there was no way we could tell them that they were right, that we couldn't do it alone. life was not easy, but it was fun. drinking at night with friends at the local park until cops decided to break it up. we acted careless because it was cool. we wore ragged shirts, torn tights and mangled shoes while our trust funds sat comfortably in the back of our minds. sometimes, on occasion, we saw the face of the truly poor. enough to motivate us for 10 minutes until we decided to open a bottle of georgi and forget our "problems". some would embrace the lifestyle, others had feelings of regret settling in the back of their head.
we liked to label ourselves, even if we said that labels were stupid. there were the indies and the sluggers, two opposing powers of the high school. rivals, but uncannily similar. they ruled the school even if the indies denied it.