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Freshman Friday. To some, these two words embody the newly earned privilege of joining the ranks of upper classmen and serve as a right of passage up the hierarchal school ladder. Participants say goodbye to underclassman status with the apparent pleasure of giving the freshmen a Friday they will never forget.
I certainly believed in this deplorable creed, or at least chose to participate without any initial remorse. After all, it's a tradition, right? We earned this privilege. We went through it freshman year. And when the freshmen are upperclassmen, they'll have their chance too. Everything balances out in the end.
So what's the big deal? Is there even anything to deal with? After all, as long as you’re not caught, it shouldn't really affect you. You find some freshmen, throw some eggs, laugh, tell your friends about it and then it's over. Just another major milestone out of the way. No guilt. No remorse. In fact, people almost always forget about freshmen Friday immediately. It has become such an integral part of the Lowell experience that most people expect it, even anticipate it, whether with fear or excitement. Once it's over, people slip back into their familiar routine of living life one school day at a time.
In the days leading up to that Friday, all I felt was excitement. This was one of the few perks of junior year that I had looked forward to over summer vacation. So when I went to Lucky's to purchase 24 large eggs and water balloons, it was with an air of confidence that I unloaded the next day’s cargo into my car. It was with even more brazenness when, the next day, I drove past several bus stops in a car full of upperclassmen and launched volleys of eggs at the hapless freshmen. We watched them scramble for cover, but ultimately only a few avoided getting hit. And all the while, we were laughing, trying to enjoy the moment for as long as possible. The laughter didn’t last very long.
At the time, it seemed like a good idea. But hell, anything seems like a good idea if you don't think about the consequences. And that's exactly what I did. I completely ignored them. I figured as long as I didn't think I was hurting the freshmen, whether physically or mentally, they really weren’t getting hurt. I continued my junior year in this state of denial unscathed until the day I was called into Dean Cordoba’s office.
So, back to the “is there even anything to deal with?” question. That was rhetorical. Yes, there is a lot of crap to deal with if you are caught. I had to deal with confrontation by the Dean, the punishment and suspension that followed, the workload I would have to make up, the guilt of having to reveal the other kids involved and the embarrassment of finding myself in this ridiculous and absolutely avoidable situation. And yet, I still did not feel that what I did was wrong. Sure, I was “sorry.” But at that point I was more sorry to my parents for being suspended than sorry toward those on the receiving end of our prank. I was even more sorry towards the people who suffered the punishment along with me. Finally, I was most sorry for actually being caught. It never occurred to me to feel anything but anger or at least indifference towards the people who had been egged and identified me.
But in the end, what really made me change my mind about feeling resentment towards the freshmen was my talk with principal Ishibashi. I figured if my principal, someone I respected and whose friendship I didn’t want to lose, was going to find out sooner or later, I might as well man up and tell him myself. I'm glad I did. In contrast to my uncomfortable encounter with the Dean, I found myself completely at ease explaining myself to the principal, who listened with care and offered a sentiment that stuck out to me and really put me to shame. He said he understood what it's like for high school students who have just gained an upperclassman’s superiority and how they think pranks like these are harmless fun. But when he told me how disappointed he was that parents and neighbors had called and yelled at him for not controlling the students who had terrorized their kids and the neighborhood with eggs, it made me realize just how stupid and selfish I felt at that moment.
Originally expecting this incident to sever my relationship with the principal, Ishibashi's complete understanding of my situation and whole-hearted empathy completely changed my point of view regarding the incident and everyone involved. All my indifference and anger melted away, only to be replaced by regret and embarrassment. So now, finally, comes the remorse. Yes, I regret being involved with egging and Freshman Friday. I regret not listening to the administration and friends that advised against it. And I regret disappointing my parents and peers. The whole affair was a bad idea to begin with, and a terrible idea to end with. I’m not saying that Freshman Friday is right or wrong, or trying to sound preachy. I’m just a guy who was dumb enough to go along with the pressures of an unofficial tradition and unlucky enough to get caught. But if there was anything I learned from this experience, it is to just think about the consequences of your actions beyond the immediate effects. Think about how they could affect you, your friends, your school and your reputation. It sounds simple enough, but you would be surprised how many people skip this vital step in decision making. After all, you never know when a bad choice like throwing eggs could come back to haunt you. |
