High school.  It's a game.  A game kids like to play.  It’s politics for teens.  a game of social standing.  It's a game with no rules, no better way to play.  It's a game of luck and skill.  It's a game of I win and you lose.  It's the kind of game that is assumed, no one is told how to play.  It's like instinct and you're lucky if you understand.  It's survival of the fittest, or at least it was. 

I am guilty of playing this game.  Trying to be the best or the smartest.  Always pushing myself further trying to do better than everyone else.  It was freshman year, I’m new to this game.  I’m figuring out where I stand and who I can trust.  I have a few friends from the years prior.  Them too being swayed by this game.  After the first few weeks, we all find our place and our roles in the game.  We soon know everything without any explanation.  We know who is who and how everything works.  The game becomes more clear as you progress, it becomes more and more obvious as the months go by.  Between the drama and rumors; which my friends and I found entertaining; were what keep the game interesting, and always changing.  I guess you could say the same in the long term, as times change so does the game.  You could also say there is no need for the skill, nor do you need understanding.  After all, this game can be played without even realizing it, as many do.  I guess you need to be smart and slick to understand how this game works or to question why.  This game has been around since the dawn of time.  Before highschools, as far back as there were people.  Our game has just changed, it's been upgraded and updated to match the times. 

High school is a competition.  Everyone trying to outdo the rest.  And this game; it's all for what?  bragging rights or popularity? High School is a learning experience, not because you are taking math and English.  You learn from mistakes and misfortunes, you learn from others and their experiences, you learn from others’ actions and the consequences.  Unfortunately, many learn from others’ actions, poor actions, therefore spreading bad habits and treatment towards others.  This is the same with rumors and bad ideas.  It's easy to let someone else think for you but it’s safer to think for yourself.  There are two groups everyone in this game can be sorted into.  One is the followers, the kind who let others make their decisions, ultimately leading to being engulfed by the game.  Then there are the leaders, the ones who think for themselves, these are the people who can stay out of trouble if they no better or can better understand the game.  Leaders understand what makes you who you are and how others view you, they accept who they are and be their best selves.  They don't let others influence their actions, they don't take no for an answer.  Leaders may seem like they are the well known or ones who stand out, that's just another rumor spreading around.  Anyone can be a leader if they master the game.  They don't need to prove it or show anyone, they just need to know how it works.  They need to know how to forget about what others think of them, they need to know how to be themselves no matter the situation.  This game does exactly the opposite.  It makes people try to be someone they are not, just for a bit of attention or recognition.  It makes people greedy for what others have.  It makes people jealous and causes rifts between friends. 

As we start to mature, we find this game a little old and repetitive.  It becomes easier to recognize and stay away from, or at least try.  You can never really leave the game after becoming part of it.  Nor do you choose to play to begin with.  It chooses you.  This game is like life although isn’t quite it.  It’s a crucial part of it that makes the world go round.  This game requires people, interacting with one another.  Influencing one another, inspiring one another, leaving an impact on one another.  The reason this game starts around high school is that teens are easily influenced by one another.  Depending on how they are influenced it can be for the better or for the worse.  Either way, it leads to how we become a part of the society later in life.  I guess you could say this game is just a practice run for what we have to face next, it prepares us for the future. 

Eventually, this game will end.  Soon enough it's no longer a game, it's the real world with responsibility and repercussions.  Soon you’ll be forced to support yourself and forget about others.  Your priorities will change, your calling will become clear.  After a while, this game will become part of the past.  Or will it? This high school game may have ended but what drove the game didn’t.  After all this game is driven by society and its players are anyone who has been a part of it.  Soon enough you will have entered a new game, similar to the last.  This one is only on another level.