General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: This message was self-deleted by its author [View all]tabbycat31
(6,336 posts)I was less than a year out of HS when Columbine happened, and I could tell you exactly why those kids shot up.
I went to a small (96 kids in my graduating class) HS where 75% of us were there since kindergarten. I peed on the floor in 1st grade (the teacher would not let me go to the bathroom when I asked) and people were still talking about that in high school. The extracirriculars at my school were not anything that I was interested in. The school was VERY one size fits all and if you did not fit into a certain mold then you were miserable. It did not have to be that way, but that's small schools for you. I would have been much happier at a larger, regional high school (I grew up in the NYC suburbs so it was possible to consolidate school districts covering 2 square miles).
I was bullied to the point where I was afraid to go to school. If you watch the movie Mean Girls, there is a scene where she's hiding in the bathroom while eating her lunch, and that brought back memories for me. Instead of doing something about a bullying problem, the school took the side of the bullies (mostly popular kids and athletes) 99% of the time, and I was the one who got in trouble. If I said anything, it was used against me (perhaps they should read Miranda rights to every student there).
College was not any different for me. My mom would not let me apply to any larger (over 2000) schools and that was something that I really needed. I think I was about 30 before I convinced her that I am not her clone and what is best for her is not necessarily best for me.