Just a few weeks back I was sitting in the theater during the annual spring dance show. Glancing around the theater, I noticed a wave of boys from the senior class gravitate toward and then sit in the very front row.  

  Time and time again during the two-hour show, I noticed their insensitivity, immaturity and purely ignorant behavior.

  I saw them laugh at dancers, especially girls. I saw them put their heads down and laugh uncontrollably when open and proud members of the LGBTQ community took the stage. And I overheard their demeaning and utterly cheap conversations during the intermission break.

  After four years of high school, with many in the early stages of adulthood, you’d expect for them to be better than this.

  After the show, I recall talking to performers who noticed the boys’ upsetting behavior.

  One conversation in particular stood out to me.

  “They end up being the representation of this entire school –  it’s so sad,” my friend said.

  This was something I hadn’t thought of before.

  You see, for the past four years of my time in high school, I told myself nearly every day that I wanted nothing more than to graduate and leave all this nonsense behind.

  By nonsense, I mean people who made my life and the life of others close to me harder.

  And it wasn’t until a few weeks back that I chose to dive into this idea on a deeper level.

  Those boys are such a small percentage of this community, and of this school.

  Yet year after year, month after month and day after day, we’d hear about their antics.

  From harassing others in person and through social media in their so-called Snapchat group chats, they apparently gained a disturbing amount of satisfaction from indulging in such things.

  Despite this just being a small group of boys, their mob mentality made them stand out, as they powered their way through high school causing unnecessary drama and trouble.

  Everyone grew accustomed to this story-line.

  This was simply because many people were the highlight of their conversations and humiliation at some point in high school.

  In other words, this small group at a large school found a way to go about bullying others in every way possible.

  There are levels to this, and there are several of these boys who are far worse in what they do, and how low they stoop.

  I want to make it clear that every person involved in these chats or groups hasn’t always been the so-called “bad guy.”

  Everyone who’s gone through four years of high school knows who the good people are, and the bad.

  I didn’t realize this until a few weeks back.

  This is indeed an amazing school filled with great people all around.

  Unfortunately, it’s the negative behavior of a small number of people who are always highlighted and characterized as the entirety of Granite Bay High.

  No one outside of their circle cares about their antics anymore.

  Through harassing and demeaning women, cyber bullying others through social media and threatening to throw people out of parties, these groups of boys believe they make a joke out of others.

  In reality, they are the joke.

  Students, teachers and parents of the victims are sick and tired of their behavior.

  They laugh at others, when the entire community of Granite Bay has made them a laughing stock.

  I’m almost certain that my words could end up in the hands of one of these boys, and if they do, they’ll surface in a group chat or be the focal point of their conversations for a day or two.

  But I, too, simply don’t care any longer.   

  Because frankly, just as Granite Bay laughs at their foolishness, so do I.