From Hilarious To Utterly Chilling, 30 People Share What “The Incident” At Their School Was

Ah, high school - a time of adolescent rebellion, raging hormones, and, of course, larger-than-life tales that transcend time. From the timeless "Water Balloon Wars" that left the school grounds drenched in hilarity to the audacious infiltration of the principal's office during the "Great Toilet Paper Caper," it's no wonder why so many TV shows, starting from 'The Simpsons' going to 'Community,' try to tap themselves into teenage mythology.

But what is it about this period of our lives that seems to hold more weight than any other and stick in our minds like gum on a shoe? There are those who swear that high school was the absolute best time of their lives, reminiscing about those "good old days" and all. Maybe they're onto something. Perhaps it's just rose-tinted glasses.

Apparently, as we age, our memories tend to play tricks on us and thus we become nostalgic. And one of those tricks is the tendency to look back fondly on our teenage years. If you're wondering why, we can blame it on a psychological phenomenon better known as the "reminiscence bump."

The reminiscence bump, then, refers to the phenomenon where our memories of events that occurred between the ages of 10 and 30 are particularly vivid and well-preserved. These are the years when we go through significant life transitions and experience a lot of "firsts" – first love, first job, first taste of independence. And guess what? High school falls right smack dab in the middle of that period. Not because it rocks and you rarely get to experience things as impactful as they were in high school, but because strong emotions tend to create stronger memories.

In a way, it's like peering through a magnifying glass at a time when our emotions and hormones were running wild, making us behave like little anarchists. Then the reminiscence bump kicks in, making those memories stand out in our minds like a highlight reel of our youth, filled with nostalgia, laughter, and facepalm-worthy moments. 

But then there's also an evolutionary aspect to this only a few take into consideration. "It was during this time that we got sorted out in the status hierarchy of our tribe, and this ultimately determined who we could mate with and who we must defer to for the rest of our lives in this group," Frank McAndrew, an evolutionary social psychologist, told Bored Panda in an email.

And those strong emotions we experience during our time in high school, be it a blessing or a curse? "[They] ensure that we remember important information about other people like who we can trust and who we cannot trust. Our propensity for holding grudges prevents us from being victimized by the same people over and over again."

According to Alejandra Scherman, an Assistant Professor at the Center on Autobiographical Memory Research at Aarhus University in Denmark, the reminiscence bump is greatly influenced by what psychologists call the "cultural life script." This refers to the societal norms and expectations regarding the sequence and timing of life events that are considered typical.

Because of a cultural fascination with the teenage years, teenagers are more mentally primed to pay extra attention to the experiences unfolding around them than ever before. "I think that any cultural obsession with being a teenager springs from our subtle recognition of how important those years are," McAndrew said. "In other words, our obsession with the teen years is a symptom, not a cause of their importance." 

Why it's easy to speculate why TV shows like to romanticize our teen years, rather than, let's say, college - "high school dramas are more relatable to the public due to the fact that many more people experienced high school compared to college," writes Deja Heard of Tuc magazine. Chris Ferguson, a professor and co-chair of psychology at Stetson University in Florida, believes our mind brings us back to high school hallways because it's a particularly important period in our lives - whether you come from a rich area or live on the wrong side of tracks.

"It's an odd cultural state in modern cultures, mixing elements of both childhood and adulthood," Ferguson told Bored Panda. "Particularly for high-status youth with stable families, this can make this period particularly 'fun' and memorable. Obviously, lower-status youth or those with difficult environments might look back on the period with less fondness." 

Then again, after all is said and done, it all boils down to nostalgia, doesn't it? "Yes, we do often romanticize the past," McAndrew agreed, warning that we often "delude ourselves that the past was great and that the future might also be great keeps us from striving."

We all know that one guy or gal who likes to start their sentences with the "Wasn't it great when..." It's fun to reminisce for a bit, sure. But some people seem to be stuck in their high school years, unable to believe that the present or even future can be no less exciting than sneaking out of Chemistry 101 to play 'GoldenEye' on a classmate's Nintendo 64. 

"There's nothing wrong with reminiscing about the past so long as it's pleasant, and doesn't detract from enjoying the present or looking forward to the future," Ferguson explained. "If someone is feeling like they 'peaked' in high school, or they've got nothing to enjoy or look forward to in the present/future - that could be an indication of other problems that might be worthy of some attention."