In the movies, the whole school shows up to all the games.

No one is caught dead anywhere but the dance.

And if there’s a party, you better believe everyone is there.

However, high school is not exactly how it is portrayed on screen. I learned that lesson the first day of freshman year when people weren’t dancing and singing down the halls.

Huge disappointment thanks to “High School Musical.”

What movies like that don’t show are the people like me. The people who, instead of cheering so loud they lose their voice at the games, would rather spend their time snuggled in a blanket, binge-watching their favorite show on Netflix until the early hours of the morning.

That decision is fine until senior year approaches, and I suddenly realize I have only been to two football games my entire high school career.

Then the obligatory feeling of having to go to every high school event sets in because this is the last chance.

Last chance to go watch the football game from the student section.

Last chance to go to homecoming.

Last chance to do all the things I can’t do after I graduate.

But when I really think about it, what am I missing out on?

Getting eaten alive by bugs, my feet aching from standing the whole time because it’s not “cool” to sit, and overall just not understanding what is going on in the game.

Or what about spending hundreds on a dress, all the drama that goes into planning where to eat and who’s invited, and don’t forget about the dance itself, with lame music and sweaty underclassmen.

Why put myself through all that when I could be doing something I actually enjoy? With people I actually like?

Media has stereotyped the way everyone’s high school experience should be.

High school should be spent the way you want to spend it, not the way movies and TV say you have to spend it.  

So if that means being the most spirited fan in the stands, then do it.

If it means staying home and playing games with friends, then do it.  

When I look back and think about what I did in high school, I want those memories to be enjoyable and something I wish I could relive.

If I think back to my junior year homecoming when I’m 60 years old and say, “Thank God that’s over with,” I did high school wrong.

So even though it’s the last chance to participate in typical high school events, it’s also the last chance to spend time with friends and basically be responsibility-free before everyone goes their separate ways and does their own thing.

Last chance for me to drive around with my best friend and listen to music for hours.

Last chance to go to the mall with my parents’ money.

Last chance to relax before the next chapter of my life begins.

In the end, I have to think about what is more important: my happiness or being able to say I semi-participated in high school events.

There are no sequels, this is the last chance.