So I remember it like it was yesterday. There I was, waiting for the over achieving bus driver to move his magic knob to unchain the doors of the bus. I always would enter the bus with a strut of some kind, almost with a little bit of swagger. As I enter I would carefully maneuver my way towards the back, stepping over back packs and evading freshly-chewed gum on the floor, and then finally sit my ass down at the second
to last row. I would always sit on the aisle seat because God knows I’m not going to let some punk push me over and make me get the bitch seat next to the window. Of course, I would never sit in the very last seat. That seat was reserved for the coolest kid on the bus.
to last row. I would always sit on the aisle seat because God knows I’m not going to let some punk push me over and make me get the bitch seat next to the window. Of course, I would never sit in the very last seat. That seat was reserved for the coolest kid on the bus.But why, why is it that the “cool kids” always sit back there? I came up with numerous reasons to answer this vital question. My first theory is that minorities don’t want another Rosa Parks incident to occur so they avoid it all together by just sitting all the way in the back, easy enough. Well of course modern society wouldn’t let that slide nowadays so I guess that myth is busted.
My second theory is a little less out there and less alienating as well. Every kid wants to be a pro athlete at one point during their life. Sitting in the back of bus gives them a little taste of the good life. In the NBA or NFL, at the beginning of any game they call out the starting line-up, always saving the superstar for last. One-by-one the athletes names are called then one-by-one they must gallop out of the tunnel and run with their hands out slapping hands with their teammates. Then finally the superstar runs out and slaps hands with everyone until they reach the back and the game begins. Similar to the “cool kids” who wait until everyone is seated to make their emerging debut. They make their way to the back giving lesser cooler kids high fives and what not, until they reach the back of the bus. They then give the bus driver the thumbs up for departure.
Well whatever the case is it always dawns on me: why is it like that? Back in my day, we would have a chart of coolness. The cooler you are the further from the front you sat. Except the middle, because the middle seats were where the emergency exit was and there was more leg room. The tall kid sat there but he was still cool on my bus and he was an exception to the rule.
Things today haven’t changed. I noticed this the other day when I pulled up to the bus while driving my cool KIA Sophia. I observe yet again, kids in the front of the bus sitting down, behaving and just listening to music while the kids in the back are standing up throwing shit out of the window and yelling. I watched all this from the comfort of my premium leather Wal-Mart seat covers and realized when we were younger the more outrageous you were the cooler you seemed to be.
In school I always had a reserved seat at the second to last row which became inherited to my little sister when I graduated. The reason all the “cool” kids sat in the back of the bus at my school was because we were always writing on the seats and doing things that where prohibited so sitting the farthest away from the bus driver made sense. Another opportunity that the “cool” kids loved about sitting in the back was the capability of “mooning” the helpless church families. If at anytime the geeks or gothic youngsters thought they could compete with our rebellious group, they better be prepared for a fight. After all there were a limited number of back seats and they were not easily given away.
ReplyDeleteJulian Leland
I remember being in middle school on the very first bud ride on the first day of school. I stepped on and saw atleast thirty sets of eyes staring back at me. I distinctly remember being so nervous that I just wanted to disappear. So, to make it all go away, i whimped out and sat in the first seat that I saw, which happened to be all the way in the frront with all the other scary cats. That was when I was in the sixth grade and I always longed to sit back there with the hot shots who had the balls to walk past all the staring eyes that were so menacing. Eventually, I made it to the back of the bus. However, that was not until I was in the eigth grade and had the power to pick on all the new and scary incoming sixth graders. So basically, I agree that the cool kids do sit in the back of the bus, and it is definitely because they have more "swag" than all of the losers in the front.
ReplyDeleteHAHA, ya I remember the good days of elementary school when I used to sit in the very back. Everyone knew my name and the bus driver even seemed to give me a little more leeway and respect than everyone else. It is the truth that all the "cool" kids sit in the back, I do not know why that is but the theory of the superstar does not sound to far from the truth. I enjoyed your blog very much and it got me to think about what you had to say, good job and keep up the good work. Alex Farley
ReplyDeleteThe cool kids sit at the back of the bus to get away with more. Traditionally, the coolest kids were the ones that were the baddest. Personally, I never made it all the way to the back seat. I dilly dallied to the back region of the bus but was never awarded the privilege of a saved seat. Sitting at the back of the bus pretty much constitutes that you are up to no good. And most likely whatever is going on back there is the reason the bus driver keeps shouting over the intercom “Sit down before I turn this bus around and take you guys back to school!” Regardless of how much trouble came along with sitting at the back of the bus, it was still every lame kid’s fantasy.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in middle school and even in elementary school we had a very valid reason for sitting in the back of the bus. The farther you were from the bus driver, the harder it was to get caught for doing something bad. On a daily basis we would throw paper balls and occasionally, harder objects. The bus driver on a weekly basis would stop the bus all together, get very mad, and start yelling at all of the kids. We never once got in trouble, despite his many threats. We were very sneaky and never snitched. This is why we sat in the back of the bus.
ReplyDelete-Justin Mitchell
Sitting in the back of the bus is the most fun by far that's why all the cool kids sit back there. Not only are you far from the teacher and bus driver so they cannot keep an eye on you but you also have the first seat in the house to fool around with the cars driving behind the bus. Everyone was envious of the kids in the back and I feel that way because we would have so much fun and would not be stuck at the front right behind the watchful eye of a teacher.
ReplyDeleteSo true. I remember waiting for 3 years till I could finally sit on the back of the bus. Kids used to rush to the buses to ensure a spot closest to those cool 9th graders. I think the back of the bus was also the best because I was the furthest away from the bus driver. This is the spot where you can get away with the most and has been idolized since I can remember. I also liked the pro athlete reference i never thought of that but it makes sense. In the back of the bus you walk past everyone and are the last to get out. This defiantly makes you cool :)
ReplyDelete2) Being at the back of the bus in my town was also considered where the cool kids sat. The is just one of those things that no one will ever know the real story behind because it may differ from person to person. I think it would be really cool to do a Myth Busters on this subject. But on the lines of making your essay better, I think you can make a few changes. First, I would put more into the beginning of your story, give more background information and set the scene a little better. Also I believed that on a commentary you weren’t really supposed to answer the question and more or less leave the answer for the reader to figure out. If this is true, I would elaborate more on the story in general and maybe give more examples of when this happened to you, or when you noticed this incident happening on a bus period.
ReplyDelete-Mark Morrison
We have the school kids sitting at the back, it's awkward though when an old person goes and sits there xD
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