the strength of the hypotenuse

after an afternoon of reacquaintance with the breakfast club a few days ago, i decided to download my high school memory file, again. high school is not as convoluted and forlorn an institution as the film suggests. it molds us into generous souls and decent individuals prepared to conquer the world and create a niche in a highly competitive universe. wrestling with the equations in advanced algebra class or figuring out the inherent complications of the pythagorean theorem filled me with so much dread. i had a few talented teachers and some really awful ones. the Philippine state school version wasn’t divided into cliques but more into sections and then subsections, the process of choosing friends for life. if only i could have owned a functioning scientific calculator senior year, i would have felt better with my trigonometry grades. but the unbridled focus should have been ingrained in my system junior year, a s i grapple whether i took a beating in geometry or chemistry ? i can’t recall. i was always late first period physics due to a slight chance of bumping with an unrequited crush. all my high school crushes weren’t worth the thoughts nor compunctions they deserved. what was i thinking? i should have read more classic lit. staring at the reel and taking a closer inspection at the alumni personalities involved in the reunion, good grades are overhyped. i don't condone truancy or encouraging mediocrity. but those without the studious and emulous edge of my section did just fine. it was just a matter choosing the right track.