Chapter 1: Click Claque

Chapter 1: Clique Clack

What is a social dynamic? What gives me the power to say, “You are less than.” In truth, nothing gives me that power. However, in high school, that power is self-assigned.

Cliques have been around since Horace Mann decided to create this godforsaken institution we’re so lucky to have. Learning endless facts from calculus to painting doesn’t seem like it requires one to be a jerk, but you’d be surprised. The craziest part about this whole facade of social hierarchy is that it is just that—a facade. It doesn’t even exist; it’s a mirage in a desert of body odor and braces. That’s why its mere existence angers me so much. Something so fake can hurt people in such real ways.

You might wonder, “How did you come to this stunning realization, Matthew?” My response, naturally, is that it was obvious. This, of course, is a lie. I came to understand how pointless it all was when I visited my sister in college a couple of months ago. Although it is understood, people don’t realize how big of a change college is. Excluding the fact that you typically change living quarters, you also—in a way—change worlds.

When I landed , I had ambitions of getting the college expirience and understanding what it meant to be a college student. When I arrived at the departure gate later that week, I can safely say that I succeeded in my mission, only the picture I had painted was of the wrong subject.

As soon as I got to her dormitory, I began to shift my narrative of college life. It wasn’t this crazy substance-filled universe, though that is a small part. No, it wasn’t that at all. It was, well, life. The second I crossed the threshold into that dorm, I crossed the threshold of maturation. The moment I stepped in, I saw three individuals walking and talking to one another, like human beings. There was no shark and minnow in sight. The typical predator eyes weren’t stabbing me with their double-edged daggers, I didn’t have to think about what to say, and most of all, I felt human. The high school zoo had accustomed me so much to my role in the “social dynamic” that I didn’t realize how domesticated the world truly was. From that moment on, my perception exponentially changed.