As school comes to an end, allow me to recount one of my most memorable experiences from my high school career.
I yawn loudly as I get up from bed.
“Ohayo, tomodachi!” I exclaim to my fellow schoolmates as I stroll through the halls of Freaky Bar High School. As I walk towards my Spanish class (sadly no Japanese was offered), I notice a strange-looking person.
“Nande desu ka?” I ask of my walking companion. “What kind of student is that? I’ve never seen anyone like him.”
“Not ‘him,’” my friend tells me. “That’s what we call a ‘girl.’ You should go say hi.”
“WHA–” I gasp in shock, taken aback by this sudden turn of events. “A g-g-girl? I’ve never seen one of those before…much less talked to one.”
Mustering up what remnants of my courage remained after this revelation, I walk timidly in the direction of the ‘girl,’ twiddling my thumbs and opening the Weather app on my phone. Before I could make up my mind to go talk to the girl, my friend, being the traitor he is, pushes me into her, yelling, “W rizz! He’s the rizzler! Rizzatron!”
“You’ve left me no choice,” I mutter under my breath. Channeling my inner demon, a guttural, inhuman sound escapes from my throat, as I scream:
“PLEASE ADD ME ON BRAWL STARS!”
A look of interest washes over her face, and I realize that not all hope is lost. Was I about to clutch this seemingly impossible situation?
“Who do you main?”
A lump forms in my throat. I know that this answer will determine the outcome of this conversation, and the two possible outcomes are polar opposites. I manage to mutter, scared for my life:
“Edgar.”
I feel a sting across my face, and I reel back as a wave of pain courses through my cheek. I fall to the ground from the force of the slap, scratching my head.
“I deserved that, didn’t I?”
The “girl” spits on me and runs away.
With no purpose left, I start to walk back in the direction of my friend, ready to berate him for ruining my chances with the first girl I had ever seen in my life. I soon notice, though, that I am all alone.
If there is one thing I have learned from high school, it’s that nobody wants to be associated with or as an Edgar main, and this isn’t just about Brawl Stars. So many of us spend our entire high school lives trying to be someone we aren’t, myself included. So many of us take things way too seriously and ruin not just everyone else’s experience, but your own as well. So if there’s one thing you should look out for, no matter how many years you have left, stop being so uptight. Stop putting limits on yourself by judging other people.
I know you’ve heard a million different people tell you to not worry about how other people perceive you. I disagree. If people think you’re an Edgar main, they will treat you significantly worse than if you weren’t. However, that’s how everyone else acts, and that doesn’t have to be you.
So stop treating everyone like an Edgar main, even if they are. Love a little bit.