In movies, it shows high school as a four year highlight of prom nights and pep rallies, although a number of students are also exposing a harsher reality. With intense pressure, social struggles, and trauma, students are challenging the traditional high school experience, proving there’s more than one way to live.
For example, The High School Musical, where it glamorizes high school as overly fun and energetic, simplifying real challenges into something more idealized. High school is more stressful than people think it is, underestimating how it can actually make students feel.
As Ms. Altshuler, our Wilde Lake school counselor explained, “some students don’t feel pressure because it fits the way that they learn… and then there’s many students where it’s not a good match.” For students who struggle in traditional environments, school can feel isolating rather than exciting.
Although, when movies try to display that difficulty, it can be overexaggerated. In Euphoria, intense situations and dramatic conflicts are constantly shown, creating a version of high school that feels darker and more chaotic than reality.
Some students who have experienced hardship, most days are not filled with nonstop drama. Instead, high school often consists of repetitive routines, classes, assignments, and occasional social moments.
In order to capture the attention of viewers, movies tend to over-exaggerate certain ideas, but by doing so it can also underestimate facts that others find traumatic. Some students wish to avoid the traditional path of high school, and people make less of those who do.
Yet people often judge those who choose different options, according to Ms. Altshuler, “everyone’s journey is different… learning isn’t just sitting in the classroom.” Challenging the idea that success only comes through one traditional route.
Movies have specific settings which include having everyone fit into a perfect stereotype. Drama is emphasized and constant, relationships are seen as life defining, and just overly designed to be entertaining, not realistic.
High school usually looks like a day with six periods, where “most of the time, it’s just the same stuff every day,” and major events are often forgotten quickly. Many people misunderstand what high school is because movies create unrealistic expectations.
They think of it as somewhere that’s only good for getting memories, not acknowledging the actual importance of high school. Certain people believe that teens should all attend high school for the experience but not every student learns the same, so different path ways are available to those that wish to complete high school outside of the four year classroom model. Ms Altshuler explains that students who seek alternatives are often “the ones that just, this traditional environment is not a good match for the way they learn.”
The main alternative high school pathways include Career and Technical Education (CTE), which provides hands-on training in careers like healthcare, engineering, and culinary arts while helping students earn certifications or job-ready skills.
Early college or dual enrollment allows students to take college classes and earn credits before graduating, saving time and money. Alternative schools offer smaller classes, flexible schedules, and personalized support for students who struggle in traditional settings.
When people set their minds on something they’re not easily persuaded, so when teens feel this way, they can become frustrated and even saddened when someone close to them pressures them to do the opposite of what they wish to do. “Repeated failure can damage confidence because “one of the main ways that self worth is built is through school and how [teens] do in school.” Students may begin believing “[they’re] not smart. [they’re] not good enough,” when in reality they may simply learn differently or thrive in another environment.
As for high school, all students are different, so they also thrive in different environments, meaning that if a student was already thriving in one environment, why try to force them to another?
Teens believe there’s only one way to succeed, so when they see movies or social media push that idea to follow that same path, they become overwhelmed if they can’t succeed following that same route.
This helps create a motion where all students can focus more on learning and mental wellbeing rather than trying to live up to a movie version of high school.
High school experience works for some people, but shouldn’t be treated as the only meaningful path. By recognizing different educational pathways, students can focus more on learning and mental wellbeing rather than trying to live up to a movie version of high school. It’s important to speak up because it gives people that perspective that they’re able to define their success and happiness for themselves, not according to movies or social pressure.
