What do high schoolers care about?

Sometimes I forget the world is not exclusively filled with people like me: immature high school students. There are quite a few people, i.e. the rest of the world, who no longer endure the daily exertions of high school-ness. No wonder adults are clueless when it comes to modern high school culture. This article is for them.

Do high schoolers give a dang about…

80s music?

Some students do, though most knowledge doesn’t extend past the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack.

Slang?

It’s in our DNA. Look this one up on the internet, I believe in you.

College?

Yes. Yes. It is all we think about.

Paying taxes?

No. Out of sight, out of mind. Unless you’re Bob Frazier.

The NBA?

Yes and no. Some are hooked, while others have no idea what a basketball hoop is. This goes for any sport, though.

New Starbucks drinks?

Yes. Drinking Starbucks is becoming quite the expensive addiction. Two anonymous students in my civics class admitted they cannot wake up without caffeine.

Tanning?

Yes. Almost every day I overhear a conversation about tanning. Although, this seems to be a vocal minority situation…

The new “Mission Impossible” movie?

No. Everyone I asked hadn’t realized it released. But I watched it, so I’m biased.

New York Times games

Yes. Completing the Connections and Wordle in class has transformed into a typical teacher-student bonding activity.

Pokémon TCG Pocket

Surprisingly yes. Junior Jacqueline Hsiao mentioned this game very emphatically to me, and the moment she said it, three people who weren’t even part of the conversation chimed in. Safe to say, this one is hot at the moment.

I think the most important takeaway from this is that squishing all my peers into a typical “high schooler” category does not work, because we all have different interests. When I asked junior Yash Kothari about video games, he described gaming as a rare luxury. My next class period, I talked to senior Sujaay Kumar, and he notched video games at the top of his list. So, to my dismay, there isn’t a list of activities high schoolers unanimously enjoy.