A lot of lessons learned during high school mirrored the ones from junior high. The only big shift was that sex was more of a reality at this point because we all know how people are when they reach the middle of their teenage years; they believe they are grown and know it all. However, in hindsight, there were some lessons learned along the way via pop culture from Orange County to the meanest of girls.
High School You is just an Elevated Middle School You
Middle school sets the foundation for who you are for the last four years of childhood.
Fashion is a Cool Indicator
Capitalism was alive and well in the 2000s, and we bought in big time with stores like Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, and even Hot Topic benefitting big time as millennials had to stunt to showcase their personalities and social statuses.
Not Caring Makes You Cool
Borrowing from Gen X before us, the Hot Topic crowd adopted that “too cool for school” attitude, even though it took them just as long to coordinate outfits as the preppy kids. 14 belts? Why y’all, why?
Seth Cohen is the male standard
When I say Adam Brody made a bigger impact than the show he was on, am I lying? No. His Seth Cohen put hearts in the eyes of a generation, and those hearts are still beating for him.
Lines Could be Crossed if Hot Enough
Seth Cohen also proved that lines weren’t that strict, a cute preppy boy could like emo music and vice-versa.
Dating is dramatic
Teen TV like The O.C. and anything on The WB/CW taught Drama 101 when it came to everything dating, love, and sex.
True Love at 16…
Those shows also made it seem like you had to find one true love by junior year or you’d die alone.
Mean Girls and Their Impact
Mean Girls wasn’t just a movie, it was a whole-ass personality for many back in the day. To be the queen bee meant to never be fucked with.
Sex Drives
Sex continued to sell its way into our mindsets at the turn of the millennium.
Double Standards
Boys could have sex all the time, but girls were promiscuous if they did so. Ugh, girls – I’m sorry we went through this bullshit.
Crushgasm 