I was in a college marching band, and we did plenty of cheering at sports games.

One day, something very good for our team happened in a game — this was more than twenty-five years ago, so I don’t even remember what sport was being played — and one of our more enthusiastic band members turned around to face the crowd, which was already cheering wildly about the fantastic play. He caught them at the exact right moment, and his voice carried well. Our team was called the Tigers.

Band Member: “GIVE ME A T!”

Hundreds Of People: “T!”

Band Member: “GIVE ME AN I!”

Hundreds Of People: “I!”

Band Member: “GIVE ME AN R!”

Hundreds Of People: “…”

Band Member: “…”

Hundreds Of People: “…”

Band Member: “S***!”

He sat down, and then he stood up and shouted at the crowd one more time while they were chuckling.

Band Member: “I MEANT WELL!”

I’m the oldest of four children, and we all have VERY different personalities and interests.

[Brother] is two years younger than I am and is entering high school for the first time. He signs up for the cross-country team, and the coach starts some get-to-know-you activities, asking everyone to share their name and whether they have any siblings in [High School].

Brother: “I’m [Brother], and I have an older sister named [My Name].”

Teammate #1: “Wait, [My Name]? Short, brown hair, glasses, always has a book?”

Brother: “Yeah, that’s her.”

All the teammates stare at my tall, athletic, sandy-blond brother, who has already shown a disdain for everything academic.

Teammate #2: “…And you’re doing this?“

Not only were his teammates shocked that we were related, but apparently, several of his friends didn’t believe him until I attended his high school graduation four years later!

I was born and raised in the US, but I wear a hijab and speak Arabic with my family. Most people are fine with it, but every now and then, I get one or two jerks.

On the first day of the college semester, I’m in class, and I see another student staring at me wearing an annoyed look. My heart sinks, but I decide to just ignore her unless she says something. Both of us stay after class to talk to the professor, and I brace myself when she turns to me.

Girl: “By the by, this has nothing to do with anything, but your outfit is seriously awesome. With all the different shades of blue, you look like a Disney princess!”

I start laughing, I’m so surprised.

Girl: “Huh? I… thought it was really pretty…”

Me: “No! It’s… it’s not that. You were staring at me earlier, and I thought you were angry or something.”

Girl: “Staring at y— Hang on. Was I making this face?”

She lets her expression drop, and her face immediately slips back into the “I will break your nose and laugh” expression.

Me: “Yes!”

Girl: “Sorry I freaked you out! I was just zoning out, and I have chronic resting b**** face. I promise I wasn’t glaring at you!”

Both of us were laughing by that point, and we finished up and left happily.

I’ve had two classes with her since then, and she’s turned out to be pretty awesome. We passed Calculus I and II with flying colors after studying together, she loves the same kind of horror movies I do, and we’re totally planning on taking neurobiology together next semester so we can keep studying together.

Back when I was in school (over a decade ago now), we got a new chemistry teacher. She was in her first year of teaching, she was super nice, and we all adored her.

One time in class, she made a demonstration of a flour-dust explosion. The setup for this required her to blow into one end of a long tube to stir up the flour in the container at the other end in order for the small explosion to happen.

[Classmate], “works” (aka volunteers) for our pupils’ magazine.

Classmate: “Ms. [Teacher], is it okay for me to film the experiment?”

Teacher: “What are you going to use the video for?”

Classmate: “I thought it would be cool to show photos of the experiment in the pupils’ magazine.”

Teacher: “Oh, sure! That’s a great idea. I’d love to see the pictures when the next issue of the magazine is published.”

He proceeded to film the experiment, and one of the frames from the video did end up in the next issue of the pupils’ magazine. It showed [Teacher] still blowing into the tube while there was a fireball at the other end.

The flavor text read: “Ms. [Teacher], a fire-spitting dragon.”

She took it in good stride when [Classmate] showed her the article and claimed that was the coolest she was ever going to look.

I’m tall. Everyone in my family is also tall, so it wasn’t a big shock when I hit six feet as I went into high school. By sixteen, I’d topped off at a little over six-foot-one-inch tall. I’m female and got teased about my height a bit, but honestly, the most annoying part was trying to find clothes long enough for me.

Then, I began dating.

Classmate #1: “[My Name], is it true that you’re dating [Boyfriend]?”

Me: “Yes, for about two months.”

Classmate #1: *Giggling* “Isn’t he shorter than you?”

Me: “Yep.”

Classmate #2: “By like, a lot, though.”

Me: “Not really. He’s about five-foot-nine, so it’s only a few inches.”

Classmate #2: “Doesn’t that bother you? He’s short!”

Me: “No? If it bothered me, I wouldn’t be dating him.”

Classmate #2: “I could never date anyone shorter than me. That’s so embarrassing.”

Me: “You must be easily embarrassed if that’s all it takes.”

Classmate #1: “What does that mean?”

Me: “It means [Boyfriend] is shorter than me, and we both knew that when we decided to date each other. I’m over six feet tall; I always knew that whoever I dated would most likely be shorter than me. I’m taller than our teacher! I would only be embarrassed if we’d been dating for two months and I only just now noticed he was five inches shorter than me. Date whoever you want, and I’ll do the same, yeah?”

Classmate #1: “You can’t even wear high heels when he takes you out!”

Me: “Who says I don’t wear high heels when we go out?”

Classmate #2: “Oh, my God, that would make you like, six-four or something!”

Me: “Sometimes, yeah, if the heels are high enough.”

Classmate #1: “That’s so funny! I bet you guys look hilarious together like that!” *Laughs*

Me: “Why is that funny?”

Classmate #1: “Because you’re so tall!” *More laughing*

Me: “Oh, my God, [Classmate #1], you’re so short!” *Loud laughter* “Ha ha, wow! You’re just so short, and that’s so funny! Ha ha ha ha ha! I bet you and your boyfriend look soooooo funny together because you’re sooooo short! Ha ha ha ha ha! He’s so much taller than you! Ha ha! That’s soooo funny! Oh, my God!” *more laughter*

Classmate #2: “What is wrong with you?”

Me: “What? I thought we were making fun of people who had height differences with their boyfriends? She’s barely over five feet tall, and he’s almost my height. So, therefore: ha ha, [Classmate #1], your boyfriend is nine inches taller than you! Isn’t that just so embarrassing?! Aren’t you so embarrassed?! Oh, my gosh, you can’t ever wear flats around him! Ha ha!“

I kept up the fake laughter until they were sufficiently weirded out and moved away. I don’t miss our talks.