Line #4 PlayingWith/HighSchoolRocks


1	'''Basic Trope''': The HighSchool years are the best years of one's life.
2	* '''Straight''': The students at Troperville High School [[AcademyOfAdventure go on adventures]] and have great romantic relationships. In their later years, they find that [[GrowingUpSucks adulthood is nothing but drudgery]].
3	* '''Exaggerated''': At a ClassReunion, they find that the JerkJock is now stuck in a dead-end job, and the AlphaBitch he was dating is now the ex-wife [[AwfulWeddedLife (or current wife)]] from hell (also, she's fat and her clothes are frumpy.) Meanwhile, the nerd is now a multi-billionaire [[GiveGeeksAChance with a]] TrophyWife, and {{High School Sweet hearts}} AliceAndBob are HappilyMarried.
4	* '''Downplayed''': They find that their college years were better, [[CollegeIsHighSchoolPart2 if not much different than high school]].
5	* '''Justified''':
6	** The students are well-off and sheltered; problems that seemed huge in high school are nothing compared to the problems of the adult world.
7	** Some students were used to skating by on their looks, charm, athletic prowess, etc. They don't apply themselves in the adult world, and since the adult world doesn't work that way, suffer accordingly. In other words, those individuals peaked in high school.
8	** The students have not experienced adulthood, nor do most of them have older siblings, and apparently AdultsAreUseless (or enforce the stereotype that adulthood is all work and no play), so they have nothing else to compare it to. All they know is, they have manageable schoolwork, friends and LoveInterests, a little bit of freedom, after-school clubs that they like, and fast metabolisms.
9	* '''Inverted''': The students at Troperville High School can't wait to graduate, so they no longer have to deal with high school drama. They find that their adult years are better; they have their own money, can do what they want, don't necessarily ''have'' to associate with [[JerkJock yucky]] [[AlphaBitch people]], have more stable romantic relationships, aren't dealing with wacky hormones, can drink legally, and have many more opportunities than they had as teenagers.
10	* '''Subverted''': Their college years are much better than their high school years, because of more freedom, the opportunity to reinvent themselves, not having to be defined by a clique/school activity/favorite music genre, and being away from people they didn't like in high school.
11	* '''Double Subverted''':
12	** CollegeIsHighSchoolPart2
13	** They are still woefully underprepared for the challenges of adult life: living with roommates and ''not'' having an RA to mediate conflicts, bills, [[DatingTropes adult dating and relationships]], homeownership and all its challenges, bank loans of various kinds, [[CreditCardPlot credit cards]], [[TheParentTrope parenting]], [[MarriageTropes marriage]], cooking and housework, taking care of aging parents, etc.
14	* '''Parodied''': ???
15	* '''Zig Zagged''': Some characters are doing well and enjoying HighSchool, others [[HighSchoolIsHell not so much]], and still others are indifferent.
16	* '''Averted''':
17	** The characters in this work have dropped out of high school
18	** Secondary education (and/or a concept of adolescence) is not the norm in this society or time period.
19	** The characters are all adults, and although their high school years may occasionally be mentioned, they aren't looked upon fondly, or are only occasionally mentioned in passing.
20	** HighSchoolIsHell.
21	* '''Enforced''':
22	** A TeenDrama or KidCom geared towards a JuniorHigh or HighSchool-aged audience
23	** The writers go for a very heavily leaning in the direction of "idealism" in the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism.
24	** With a market infested with stories where HighSchoolIsHell, the writers have decided to go against the current for the sake of attracting audiences.
25	* '''Lampshaded''': "I wish I were back in high school. Those were the best years of my life!"
26	* '''Invoked''': The people in charge of the high school make sure to hire [[PuttingThePalInPrincipal a very friendly principal]] and stomp down on bad apples to try to deal with a rise in things like students dropping out, suicides and [[AxesAtSchool school shootings]].
27	* '''Exploited''': A mother and her BrattyTeenageDaughter switch places for a day, so that they can learn that both adulthood and adolescence have challenges.
28	* '''Defied''': The DeanBitterman really goes [[HopeCrusher above and beyond]] to make sure HighSchoolIsHell for anything with a pulse within its perimeter.
29	* '''Discussed''': ???
30	* '''Conversed''': ???
31	----
32	Back to HighSchoolRocks
33	----
34	%% Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
35	%%
36	%%* '''Implied''': ???
37	%%* '''Deconstructed''': ???
38	%%* '''Reconstructed''': ???
39	%%* '''Plotted A Good Waste''': ???
40	%%* '''Played For Laughs''': ???

Context PlayingWith / HighSchoolRocks