en-us Copyright 2008 - All Rights Reserved. Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:51:53 GMT 15 By CHRISTINA WOLFGRAM
Bad Days are awful. In fact, I think they are worse than the common cold, maybe even worse than the flu. At least when you have the flu, you can stay home and eat soup. “Bad Day” on a note from Mom won’t mean an excused absence for that day you spent watching The Notebook and eating ice cream. I see kids suffering from symptoms of Bad Days almost all the time: Jimmy can’t keep his head up in class because he has the worst Algebra-induced headache in the history of math; Suzie holds back tears during a Spanish quiz because anything remotely Spanish reminds her of her ex-boyfriend, Juan; Jason doesn’t even hear his teacher call on him because his brain is preoccupied with the ways he could tell his parents that he dented the car this morning. I could go on. The causes of Bad Days are innumerable. Break-ups, family fights, bad haircuts, pop-quizzes – any could send a hormonally-imbalanced youngster into Teen-Angstville. With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, it is important to be aware of the signs of a Bad Day. Be on the lookout for general mopy-ness, a constant struggle to fully open eyes, grunting, the classic “head-on-desk” routine, overly dramatic sighs, sweatpants, and a fervent but bland “I’m fine” response to any “how are you” or “what’s the matter”. All those who have fallen victim to the dreaded Bad Day must be treated with care. Unless the unfortunate adolescent is your very best friend, avoid asking what’s wrong; they’ve probably heard it at least ninety times from teachers and over-concerned and/or nosey acquaintances all day. Do not speak in a hushed voice around the infected. They can still hear you. Even during the head-on-desk routine. DO NOT publicly display massive amounts of unnecessary affection around these poor saps, especially if their Bad Day was relationship-related. Seriously, it’s just cruel. Get a room. Do what you can to prevent Bad Days. If this means buying your recently dumped friend a box of chocolates on Valentines Day, go for it. If it means serenading a sniveling classmate, that’s cool. If it means staying unnaturally quiet and letting a Bad Day take its course, I won’t stop you. However, I do think Bad Days should be considered excused absences. They are more scarring than chicken pox, harder to get over than the measles and require more recovery time than Bird Flu. So consider it, Quince Orchard High School. Until that little law is passed, be nice to each other and have a beautiful day. ]]> Thu, 14 Feb 2008 18:35:00 GMT