When I was in high school, like many, I strived for attention. And even though I got plenty of attention I still strived for more. I was greedy. I was the skate-rat that was way into music... which helped me relate to lots of different people. My friend Keith and I use to dj during lunch in the main quad. There was no one that I did not get along with. I was even elected to the student counsel. Yep, I was the Rally Chair. And I also started an official club at school... The Norm Peterson Booster Society (yep, from Cheers).
With all of the attention I had on a daily basis I was pretty set - but I always seemed to want / need more. Probably not need, but as a pimply faced teenager I thought I needed to be cooler than the day before. I had to learn the newest skateboarding trick, or go bigger, faster than someone else. I had to spin the latest cool record... before it was cool. So after spinning it I'd have to go to Tower Records or up to Rough Trade or Reckless in SF to find a new 12" that was even cooler.
I was a happy kid from a great family, and looking back on my time in high school I have no clue why a spent so much time grasping for more and more attention. Since I was not doing super amazing things all of the time (yeah I know, hard to believe) a few times I stretched the truth a little. Actually I flat out lied. Lied Lied Lied. And I am not a liar, never have been - because I am not good at it, and I feel awful for doing it. But in my high school days I did tell a few whoppers just to be cooler than the day before.
Lie #1.
I knew 3rd Bass. The first 3rd Bass album came out in the Fall of my senior year. Since I spun their record before anyone at my school had heard of them I was super cool. But since that was not enough for me, I told people I knew them. I had proof. The CD booklet had pages of Thank You/Shout Outs, and one of the names listed was NINER. So why could it of not been me? Well maybe because I lived in Northern California and they were from Queens... and I never had met them. I was a dumb-ass.
Lie #2.
I had a broken leg. My older brother had busted his kneecap and had multiple leg braces. After he was better I decided to come to school on a Friday wearing one of the leg braces and crutches hobbling around saying I had busted my leg. Sure I got the attention, but no one really questioned it all when I showed up on Monday morning all healed. My Physics teacher never believed me... you could see it in his eyes, he knew I was full of it.
Lie #3.
I had a mysterious disease. Now I only told this to a couple teachers, primarily to get out doing a bunch of work. I was not a strong reader so instead of working on my reading I screwed off, went skateboarding, bought records, and came up with some story that I was really really sick. I wish I remember the name of the disease I made up. See back then there was not internet searches, so you could get away with it. Until my parents went to Back To School Night and they came home telling me that some of my teachers were really worried about me and my health issues. I really felt like a dumb-ass.
Lie #4.
I had a book deal. I had to write a story for an English class... and I just rolled with it. I had written about 100 pages of pure crap - and so why not get a book deal. I never told my teacher about the book deal (he knew people so I did not want him snooping, he knew Enya - really) but I told some people at school. People really did not care. There was this "Oh, that's nice" attitude about it. They probably read right through my lying eyes.
Lie #5.
I designed a logo for Adidas. I was really into art and I got into graffiti designs during one summer. Well I made this graffiti design re-doing the Adidas logo... and I lied to everyone in my art class that Adidas paid me to use the design. Of course all of this went down during the summer. Uh, sure it did. That was such a dumb-ass move.
Were there more? Nope. I just used these at key times when I needed to feel even cooler... never realizing that I was being the biggest dork, and that people liked me any way... without all of these made up stories. But people never called me on any of it because I had lots of accomplishments - they just bought into my full-of-crapness. Or they just made fun of me behind my back.
Oh, being a teenager...
