I must admit, one of the things I was most worried about when I made the decision to work from home was staying on a normal work schedule and committing myself to working during normal work hours. So far the transition has proved pretty smooth! I haven’t been tempted to take advantage of my new-found freedom and have been proactive with my time. I’m determined to keep it up!
I’ve also managed to remain on my normal eating schedule and have made it a point to sit down for real meals rather than snack through the day, as I sometimes do when I’m at home on the weekend. There’s something different about a “work day” at home that gives me more motivation to stick to healthy eating and veggie-packed meals.
This afternoon, I enjoyed a salad for lunch.
- Romaine lettuce
- Carrots
- Tomato
- Feta cheese
- Holland-style jarred onions
- Balsamic vinegar
- Olive oil
After downing almost an entire batch of wheat germ brown sugar cookies myself over the course of the weekend, this salad did its thang and got some vitamins and nutrients back into my system.
Success!
High School Superlatives
On Saturday I received a neat little package in the mail from my high school. I was recently interviewed by a copywriter from Fremd High School’s student newspaper who contacted me with questions about my blog. The interview was published in The Viking Logue on Friday, May 27 and the advisor of the paper sent me a copy to see for myself.
Coincidentally, the issue of the school newspaper I received included the coveted “Senior Issue.”
In high school I remember loving the senior issue. It showcased the lives of a handful of exceptional students who were graduating that year. The swimmer who placed first at the state meet in several races. The singer whose passion for music landed her a scholarship to her top-choice college. The volunteer whose devotion to helping others resulted in the creation of a new local charity to help those in need. As a freshman I had no idea who these students were, but I loved reading about their passions and successes.
And then, covering the middle spread of pages of the senior issue, the Senior Superlatives were displayed.
Best Dressed, Best Smile… all the usual superlatives. My high school also took it up a notch with some more creative awards: Brownest Nose, Most Likely to Be a Millionaire, Biggest Party Animal, Worst Driver, Most Likely to Marry for Money, Most Intelligent, Prettiest Eyes, Couple Most Likely to Get Married/ Divorced, among many others.
At the time, I really didn’t think much of it. I laughed at the funny awards and smiled at the nice awards. They didn’t really affect me and I took it all in stride.
Now that I’m older and randomly stumbled upon this issue of my high school’s newspaper, I feel a bit conflicted. Are senior superlatives a good idea? Do they encourage comparisons and competition? Are they a fun part of tradition? Can people take the awards with a grain of salt, or are they too personal?
Honestly, I don’t know. I personally was okay with the awards as a teen, but, now that I’m an adult, I wonder if they affected some of my peers in a negative way.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic.
Questions of the Afternoon
What do you think of superlative awards? Are they all in good fun or can they be potentially problematic?
Did you win a superlative award in high school?
I actually won “Couple Most Likely to Be Married” with my high school boyfriend. Oops. 
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Our high school had ridiculous superlative awards, which made it more fun. I got “most likely to reinvent calculus” and “most likely to start a religious cult.”
Really. I have proof.
hahhaa! we had “biggest tanorexic” for the people who hit up the tanning beds one too many times.
That would have been me! My prom pics are scary. Haha!
Senior Superlatives were a popularity contest at my high school. The people who won didn’t really match up with the award. It was stupid and I actually didn’t like it…. do I still hold a little bitterness towards it… haha… maybe. 😉
That salad should win a superlative though! It looks amazing! 😀
I got ‘Most Likely to Move to Hollywood’. Really? I am much more of a midwest girl. I would say it’s all for fun, because people usually change a significant amount from high school to university, so none of that stuff is really true.
I had “Most Likely to Join Peace Corps” which I did, but that isn’t really a bad superlative. I think I might be upset if I got “Most likely to divorce” or “Most likely to marry for money” or something negative. We had the traditional superlatives like, best smiles, nicest eyes, class clown, etc. Nothing too negative, which I think is fine.
Your working from home reminds me of when I was looking for my first job – I treated it like a full-time job and spent from 9-5 working on my resume, applying to jobs, looking for jobs, and editing my cover letter. I would take a 60 min. break for lunch and get back to work. It paid off though – I finally got a job. I think with the right attitude it isn’t too hard to maintain a schedule, but you have to be strict with yourself!
I think they’re cute and fun, but see how some people could let them negatively effect them.
I loved them in high school, except when the girl in my group of friends who won ‘best looking’ reminded everyone all the time that she had won that. It was quite pathetic and annoying 🙂
That’s awesome that your high school did an interview with you—- more promotion for the blog– yay!!
My school had superlative awards, but they were published in our YEARBOOKS so everyone saw them (and still can–if you held on to yours.) I think they’re fun but I had one of the “good” ones– Most Likely to anchor the 6 o’clock news. I did wonder at the time how the “party animal” or “most likely to get pregnant in college” would go over with the students who received those “honours.” Hmm…. Enjoy your afternoon! 🙂
I won “Most Involved” which was fitting because I belonged to every club possible and was student body pres on top of that!
I dont think theres anything wrong with high school superlatives. Most seniors look forward to them and take them to be a lighthearted fun thing! It kind of makes me sad that things that arent meant to be taken too seriously are now viewed as things that could possibly be negative….I’ve never heard one person complain about superlatives! We also had a really really fun graduating class that got along pretty well, so thats just my experience.
We don’t have those kind of awards in Europe.. 🙂 It’s quite funny that you won that award lolz..
Great salad though! 🙂
I was a yearbook editor and we had to be SO careful with the superlatives we used – two guesses what “Best Looking Jeans” replaced! 😉
haaaaa! i guess a good way to be PC about it
First of all, I have to say I can’t believe you went to Fremd!! I work in Arlington Heights and have clients that go there. Such a small (kinda) world.
I think I like the traditional superlatives, but some of those wacky ones might be hurtful (like most likely to marry for money).
I was nominated for best smile, but didn’t win. My boyfriend at the time, however, was voted prom king, so that was cool.
Thats awesome! My school does the superlative awards and they are always published in our yearbooks. They only did professional ones, tho. The funniest who is the “Most likely to get a speeding ticket”. I think if they take it to far, then yes, I think it can create negative pressure.
I like Victoria’s idea about silly high school superlatives. they should get rid of “best looking” and “most intelligent” etc, because I think teenagers can be very sensitive and self-conscious. We had a lot of silly ones, including “clumsiest” and “best never-would-be couple”. 🙂
Oh that couple one would be awesome!
I thought they were really fun, and ours were published in the yearbook, so it made it longer lasting! I guess they could be harmful/hurtful if taken that way??
I won ‘best smile’ and ‘friendliest’ 🙂 awwww. It was a nice way to feel appreciated!
I personally think they’re fun and harmless tradition. I dislike the physical categories, but the ones that are based on character and personality are an absolute blast!
I think senior superlatives are okay. I mean, as with anything in life there are going to be people who take it too seriously. It’s fun for most people so I think it’s a great tradition to have. No doubt some people might be hurt by it but no matter what we do in life we’re never going to make everyone happy 100% of the time, you know? I think the best thing we can do is to make sure the superlatives aren’t anything that could be taken offensively and just let people have fun with them. If we stopped doing things just because we were afraid someone might take something the wrong way, then we would never be able to do anything in this world. Just my two cents. 🙂
I agree, “best smile” or something like that might make people feel bad if they aren’t voted 🙁 I was voted “Best to take home to Mom and Dad” – and I loved it! 🙂
Aw, that’s a great one!
Our school stuck to the original superlatives but made the titles a little more fun. I won “Most likely to be in a Crest commercial”. Never did get a casting call to show off my pearly whites! haha
I love how that our ‘Most likely to succeed’ (also our valedictorian) didn’t go to college, still lives at home at 24, and only works a part-time job. NICE.
I went to an all-girls school so the superlatives were a little lame. The were trying to promote girl-power, not competitive cattiness that usually happens between a group of girls.
Were you voted for any of them? You seem like you could be Friendliest or Best Smile.
Haha I got “couple most likely to be get married” with my hs boyfriend. Yeah, that didn’t work out… 🙂
a family friend of mine got voted “Best couple” with her HS boyfriend, and now they are divorced. i think that superlative is a curse!
Honestly I hated those categories in high school — mostly because I knew I had no chance to get any of them — I was quiet but I wasn’t even the quietest one!!! 🙂
Did you win a superlative award in high school? = nope!
Love the red bowl with the red tomatoes in it…delish!
At our school we weren’t allowed to have the “negative” superlatives. Can you imagine bringing the school paper or your yearbook home and your mom opening it up and it said that you were voted “most likely to marry for money” or “most likely to get pregnant in college” YIKES!
So, I think to protect the students from gaining a negative image or upsetting parents, our school stuck to the regular awards like best smile, most school spirit, most likely to become a millionaire, etc.
I do love being able to work from home and eat when I’m hungry, not by the clock!
I think Superlatives are fun but of course I got a nice one “Most Optimistic” there were some not so nice ones that other people got! 🙁
That’s so neat that you were featured in your high school newspaper! We didn’t have anything like that because my high school was TINY! 350 people to be exact. I know most high schools in my area have more than 350 people in each grade.
I actually was thinking about this last week. I went to a fifth grade graduation and they had superlatives. They had some for Best Dressed, Messiest Student, Most Athletic, etc. I am a MH counselor and one of my kids got an award that I would not want at all. I don’t know how it affected her self esteem, but I think they can be somewhat damaging. And on the other hand they can over inflate self esteems and cause a tension among one another – especially at such a young age. The best dressed kid probably didn’t even pick out his own outfits, he’s in 5th grade!! And it’s kinda sad for all the other kids that didn’t get anything.
We had superlatives at my high school, too.
While the voting started out with above 100 categories, quite a few were removed because they were “too mean”. And I agree, some of them would not have been taken as the joke that they were and probably would have sent some people over the end (“Most Likely to be a Serial Killer”, “Most Bipolar”) Some were even designed with certain people in mind.
I won “Most Likely to Have 23 Cats” and “Most Likely to Be A Nun”… I think that my first year in college pretty much takes me out of the running for those now, haha. It definitely helped me see how my peers thought of me and encouraged me to be more open and social.
I did not receive any superlatives in high school and it honestly didn’t bother me one bit. I didn’t really feel like any of the categories descirbed me.
However, the school I taught at last year gave superlatives to the teachers and that caused a lot of problems. People were pretty snarky about saying things like, “Really, she has the prettiest eyes?” and the like. Also, some of the awards were more on the mean spirited side. A close friend of mine was nominated for most dramatic and it really upset her. So, for some reason I think its more of a carefree, fun thing for teenagers and something we can’t handle as well as adults!
Am I the only one who finds it ironic that the person voted “most dramatic” got upset? 🙂
Haha! Even she admitted she would probably be less dramatic if she had been able to laugh it off!
In my high school we did have superlatives but by the time I was a senior we had a new dean who did not think they were nice or fair so he got rid of a ton and changed a ton, I won best smile and thought it was pretty cool, but now I could care less. I am pretty sure thru have done away with superlatives at my high school now and I don’t blame them I could understand how it may hurt peoples feelings.
AHH, the article looks great! So exciting. 🙂
I was voted “Did Most for Class.” snore… well yeah, the class president WOULD be awarded that.
I’ve always thought they were all in good fun; however, my class really didn’t have any risque ones like “worst driver” or “brownest nose.” I do agree, though, a lot of them could be promoting popularity contests and the sort. But so do homecoming queens and prom kings, right?
They used your quote!!! Thanks again for your help!
Really?! AH, awesome. I’m so glad!
I thought superlatives were fun in high school, and no one took them too seriously because a lot of the winners were close friends with the people who made it haha. They were in our yearbook, and they were just funny to look at.
I was nominated for the Celebrity Look alike with Amanda Seyfried (I think it was just the long hair haha), but the category itself didn’t make in the yearbook which was perfectly fine with me. I was a little to shy to probably be in it for that.
By the time I graduated HS, we noticed that a fair amount of the superlatives always meant one thing when they said another. I.e. “Most changed since 9th grade” normally went to the person who’d lost the most weight since 9th grade, and “biggest flirt” hurt a few girls when it started being perceived as the “slutty” girl. So I think they nixed them by my year of graduation….
However, I received Most likely to change the world, most school spirit, and best sense of humor and got to choose which one (as I was on the yearbook staff, we didn’t want to give folks a complex if they didn’t get anything.) I chose humor, though, partially because I was nervous to live up to the change the world one, and it was a TEENSY bit less nerdy than school spirit!
I loved my high school superlatives, some were clearly a popularity contest (There was actually a “Sexiest” one.. no joke) but others were funny “most likely to be on cops” was one of my personal faves for the funny ones. My boyfriend and I were voted “Cutest Couple” and on the day we were supposed to get our picture taken for the “award” we both showed up to school and matched! Seriously, we both had on striped polos, both were blue (mine was a much prettier one though 😉 ) and since the pictures were in black and white we looked even more matchy matchy. Funny thing is it was a total fluke!!!!!! I remember thinking “you have got to be kidding me hahah” One of my favorite stories to tell when talking about high school – can’t wait to tell the kids/grand kids someday 😛 😉 *yes I want to be that cheesy old couple haha
First of all, that salad looks super delish! I may just have to copy that for tomorrow.
Second, I think you bring up an interesting argument regarding the senior superlatives. I did receive a couple (my school did SO many, I think since we had a class of 450ish) and I don’t even remember what they are now! Nobody ever took them seriously at all…it was just a passing thing. That was probably due to the fact that our school newspaper was a complete joke and nobody even bought it. So we had a few laughs about them when they came out and that was that.
But I can see how, at more competitive and newspaper-active schools, they could present a problem. When you start to think about all of the crap that’s going on with bullying now too, it makes you wonder.
Ugh- I hated Senior Superlatives! I definitely think they can have a negative effect on people. Then again, I took things way too seriously back then! I won “Most Anticipated Christmas Chapel Solo”…hard to explain, but it was an insult! The girl who picked the awards was a junior who liked my boyfriend, so she made my superlative embarrassing for me.
Let’s just say I do NOT miss high school! 🙂
I think superlatives can be fun and interesting, but I do agree with Jordan P.! Even if everyone laughs and seems ok with the superlatives, you don’t always see what they struggle with on the inside. It all depends on the self confidence of the person that receives the superlative, and what that superlative REALLY means. Hopefully (although this is not always true) kids are nice to each other on something that is supposed to be fun…and is made known school wide.
That’s awesome that you were interviewed for your high school newspaper! Sadly, I did not get a superlative in high school. In my school, it was more a popularity contest than anything else. It really made every other person feel bad about themselves for not being nominated. Looking back on it though, it doesn’t bother me one bit now. I cannot wait for my ten year reunion next year! 🙂
Our school had more problems with the king/queen stuff too. One girl was begging and crying to all of her friends to vote her queen (it worked) – it was just so much unnecessary drama. And another girl (unpopular, deemed unattractive) was nominated as a joke by many students. I can’t imagine how that made her feel.
I think they’re a really cute tradition. I got “Best Laugh” which was fun. I think the ones that are like “Most Beautiful” is stupid.
You know what should be outlawed though? Homecoming Queens and Prom Kings and stuff like that. I won Prom Queen senior year and I remember that after I won my friends and other girls came up and congratulated me, but you can tell they kind of felt sad at the same time that they weren’t recognized that night.
Maybe the way they did it at my high school was not good (boys voted for girls and girls voted for boys), but I still think it is a practice that should be done away with. Why single out one girl and one guy and tell them that they’re way more special that night than anybody else…
Our school had more problems with the king/queen stuff too. One girl was begging and crying to all of her friends to vote her queen (it worked) – it was just so much unnecessary drama. And another girl (unpopular, deemed unattractive) was nominated as a joke by many students. I can’t imagine how that made her feel.
i like the tradition of superlatives. if anything, i’d say remove the superlatives with negative connotations, but i still think it’s all in good fun. i think i got ugliest car or something, which i thought was hilarious and it didn’t bother me at all 🙂
I think they are a cute tradition but I also think that they can get out of hand and that some people take the mtoo seriously. I have known kids who have actually gotten hurt by either receiving/not receiving a superlative when that is not the case, it should all be in good fun!
I won the same thing!! I did marry my high school bf though! =) I remember loving the “most likely” issue as well. Now that I am older, I do not think it is a very good idea. Like you said, it promotes competition which isn’t always a good thing.
Coming from someone who did not win a senior superlative, I think they are all in good fun and teens should take it with a grain of salt (as should their parents). I don’t remember thinking ‘oh gosh I didn’t get most likely to succeed, am I not going to succeed in life?’ Quite frankly I don’t even remember who got what but I do remember it was entertaining! 🙂
I won 4 awards…Most Studious, Most Like to Become a Politician, Most Likely to Become a Millionaire, and Most Likely to Succeed.
I sure hope one of the “Most Likely to Become…” ones come true! 🙂
My high school actually did something really cute: we had a “superlative book” in our senior lounge where every person had a page, and members of the class could anonymously write what they thought each person’s superlative should be. Then the yearbook editors would choose one, make sure it was ok with the recipient, and printed it under your portrait next to your “dot dot.” It was cool cause everyone was included, but at the same time it kind of diluted the concept since some people didn’t have good ones. I got “most sophisticated,” but some people got really really fun ones!!
My brother’s HS also did something neat- they had 10 categories and the seniors would vote on it, and the top three for each category would get listed in the book with their percentage!
What a wonderful reward to be interviewed by your school newspaper!
I personally think senior superlatives are just a fun tradition that I would hope no one would take seriously. I think by the time you are senior you should have some sense of humor 🙂
I landed the Most Likely to Succeed and i did a fun yearbook photoshoot with a cop and police car to make fun of the fact that I was a goody-goody.
That salad looks so tasty!! What are the Holland onion thingies?
I am so jealous you get to make your lunch AT home every day…dream come true!!
they’re SO good! they come in a jar and are delicious flavored little onions. my mom uses them when she makes roasted chicken and so i used them last night in my chicken. they’re SO good.
I was nominated for one of those ‘most likely to’ awards in med school. Let’s just say it was a super embarrassing category and I’m so glad I didn’t win because otherwise I would have made it into the yearbook and then I would have had to hide the yearbook from my parents forever!
We weren’t allowed to do those according to our administration, especially those like “Most Likely to be a MILF.” We actually announced them at our senior barbecue after the faculty left.
Aw best couple haha. Our school was pretty tame, yours seem intense! I won most musical and ended up being a music teacher, awwe…
I won for “Most likely to be a rock star” Which was an awesome title to win! I was very punk rock back in hs! I also came in 2nd for “Biggest Mooch” which well, I kind of was..so both were fitting.
Ours were published in our yearbooks also, we had 1st and 2nd places.
Best Pockets was one that was changed to make it sound more appropriate 🙂
I was voted either the shyest or quietest (can’t remember which), which I thought at the time was ironic since I was giving the speech for graduation. It didn’t bother me, although I wish people would have taken the time to get to know me instead! (I really wasn’t that quiet!)
I do know that some could be really hurtful (like mentioned above – yikes, serial killer one?!) because let’s face it – middle and high school kids can be brutal at times.
I didn’t win a superlative, but I was in the running for “most artistic” and “best style”. I think they’re fun, but I can definitely see how they could be problematic in leaving people out. People can be so competitive, too!