Milikan high school was where the challenge of my teenage life began. My high school experience gave me many memorable moments and with that, some difficult times. I was discouraged to think on my own. Rather, the school administrators told me what to do and what not to do.
Due to the Constitution, the First Amendment rights, the dress code violated my freedom of expression. For example, I, being a student, was not allowed to wear anything I desire, but instead the school has these ridiculous rules of what type of clothing I could wear. For instance, before entering the school, I must wear the appropriate clothing and my shirt must be properly tucked in. Gangster clothing such as plain white shirts and baggy pants was inappropriate. The ladies who wore short skirts and spaghetti string tops were not allowed in school. No one in school was able to wear any sport logos on any clothing or even wear any head gears such as: baseball caps, beanies, and even straw hats. I hated these rules. Failing to follow these orders can result in after-school detention, which might even result in school suspension.
The student athletes in school were treated like they were in a military bootcamp. I thought that the school board was out of their mind when I saw my fellow students and some friends as victims in hell. Everything that was said must be done. Here's how it was, in the athletic department of the campus what ever the coaches said, went. Like bootcamp, coaches acted as if they were the drill sergeants. They yelled at anyone in sight. Although coaches did ask what their students thought about a particular subject, the athletes had no chance to speak. One time, Nathan White, a friend of mine and a star of the varsity basketball team, was fouled hard at a pre-season game and the coach asked him if he was hurt. Before Nathan could even move his mouth to answer, the coach made the decision and told him that he was fine and he will stay in the game. Although Nathan was badly hurt, he had no choice but to play. Seeing my friend suffer like that was horrible. Secondly, the whole basketball team was forced to shave both their heads and their legs just the fact that the coach said so. Although some of the men thought shaving the legs is "gay," they had to follow the command in order to remain in the team. Even I thought the same. Thirdly, the coaches' main goals were to win, win and win. The coaches threatened all their students if they ever show up late at any events or not show up at all. A situation like this happened to my childhood friend, Steven Johnson. Once, Coach Valentine gave Steven Johnson, an all-star football player, an ultimatum. He was given a choice to either miss his brother's wedding that was the same day as the football semi-final or lose it all, meaning getting kicked off the team and have his grades dropped. The consequences was too high, in result Steven was forced to accept the proposition. I thought that this proposition was out of the question but just like the saying "life is never fair."
Unreasonable searches and seizures was a pain in the ass. Schools were too over protective these days. The administrators took everything too seriously as if it was a threat to the school. The things that I hated the most were those metal detectors. Every morning before I entered school, I felt like I was in an ...