Why a High School Musical experience would have doomed me in university

High school is the best five years of your life, someone once told me.

Looking back, where did they get that idea? My biggest shame would be to peak in high school, a time of cringey fashion, newly blossoming insecurities, and the constant battle to be recognized and respected by adults.

Even now as a university student, I’d hate to think this is my peak. It’s rough out here trying to lay the foundation for your entire future and endure your first scars in this unforgiving job market. I’m banking on the fact that my peak is still a decade away.

In contrast, the students of East High in High School Musical lived a dream school experience, one with talented athletes and musicians that broke down cultural stereotypes and truly made high school the best four years of their lives.

Of course, it’s just a Disney movie and focused on fun rather than accuracy. But I’m here to dive down that rabbit hole and ponder how a High School Musical experience might actually translate to university if I were in their shoes.

The High School Musical experience is too perfect. Something only possible in the fairytale bubble of East high. If I’d had that, it would have shattered the instant I set foot through the overpriced gates of what they call post-secondary education.

Peaking with your high school boyfriend

Let’s start here.

Much to my own dismay, I didn’t date in high school where the only fish in the sea were teenage boys who enlightened me to the deepest depths of human stupidity.

I’ll admit, this kind of crushed me. Growing up, I devoured teenage romances in YA novels and on screen and deemed it an instrumental high school experience. Relationships are such a huge part of social culture and norms that lacking that experience was not an easy thing to grapple.

But what could crush Gabriella more is a breakup with Troy in university. Realistically, most first relationships, especially with high school sweethearts, don’t work out. And though Troy and Gabriella chose universities only 32.7 miles apart, that’s still an hour and half drive. Let me tell you, when university gets busy, even a thirty minute transit feels like too much time stolen from your day. Since they’re both dedicated to academics or extracurriculars, I doubt the two would really see each other in person very often.

After such a dreamy romance in high school with the perfect guy, it’d be pretty difficult for the next guy to top that. I’d hate for my dating history to go downhill after my high school boyfriend, especially since the freedom in university spices a relationship up.

Where are the realistic job prospects?

Though Troy was extremely accomplished in high school, I have to question if he would maintain the same level of success in at UC Berkeley studying basketball and theatre. Both are hefty time commitments that would have left little time for classes. Could he achieve the academic minimum to stay enrolled at school?

More importantly, neither field is known to be super employable. As a creative writing major, I speak from personal experience that it is extremely stressful to study something you know leads into a tough industry. After a lot of stress, tears, and uncertainty, I’m settled with my decision to pursue communications/marketing with a creative twist while keeping my writing projects as a side hustle, but it took time and exploration to reach this place in my career journey. I can only imagine the hardship that Troy, being pulled in two completely opposite directions of athletics and theatre, both of which have uncertain job prospects, will have to endure.

And without Gabriella constantly by his side to navigate those tricky waters, it could feel like he’s drowning.

Of course, Troy’s whole concept is that he’s the star at everything and a High School Musical 4 would feature him winning NBA championships by day and performing on Broadway by night. But it takes a lifetime of work just to achieve one of those—both at once is simply impossible.

How would Troy Bolton fit into the queer world of theatre?

I am not part of the LGBTQ+ community, but I’ve been involved in theatre in high school and university and let me tell you—it’s a queer-dominant space. This, of course, was not reflected at all in a 2006 Disney movie.

The most flamboyant character is probably Ryan, but his sexuality is never openly discussed. The most overt clue could be when Ryan and Chad swap outfits during the “I Don’t Dance” sequence in High School Musical 3, which speculated theories on their relationship, but director Kenny Ortega stated that it wasn’t intended to imply anything romantic.

Ironically, even though the exaggerated 2000s stereotypes of High School Musical—that jocks are kings, anyone smart is uncool, and high school is ruled by certain groups—are viewed as a bit old-fashioned now, the movie’s central premise—that the top athlete would also find passion in musical theatre—may be just as rare today. Based on my limited experiences in theatre, there’s nowhere else a straight White jock may feel more out of place.

Feeling like an outsider in theatre combined with the heavy workload of juggling it with basketball, Troy may drop out of the theatre program altogether. Then his own High School Musical experience would be left in the past as a fond memory as he chases a spotlight in the NBA.

Smacked over the head with the suckiness of life

The main point I’m getting at is that university is a much broader space than high school to figure yourself out—leading to higher highs but definitely lower lows—and sometimes the contrast of an exceptional high school experience only exacerbates the lows.

Personally, I struggled with that. In high school, though I was not as much of a brainiac as Gabriella—who was winning state-wide science championships, gorgeous, and an amazing singer—I was a smart student, grades-driven and good at it. I dedicated much of my time in high school to going above-and-beyond for assignments, studying nonstop for chemistry exams, and ripping my hair out trying to close the gap between 98 to 100% on my report card. Yeah, I was a tryhard. But thanks to those efforts, I won the Governor General’s Academic Medal—awarded to the student with the highest GPA in their school.

But I entered university where (as a creative writing major), what mattered weren’t grades but extracurriculars, internships, networking, and securing jobs. Also, high grades were no help to my main issue—figuring out which career path is the best for me, that golden combination of passion and stability.

And as someone pursuing a unique path, it was hard to find a community of students going in the same direction, something I think Troy would struggle with trying to find a fitting combo between theatre and basketball.

People like Gabriella and Troy—who were not only talented but popular and at the centre of East High’s cultural shift toward musicals—must have felt at the top of the world in high school and could suffer that much harder when faced with the reality that you can’t sing your way out of all of life’s problems.

Gabriella describes Troy as her fairytale, a dream when she’s not sleeping. I think everything about High School Musical fits that description, but at least it’s a classic movie to rewatch when you crave a taste of what you wished life was like.