maybe it's being 15 that sucks for 85%, and has nothing to do with high school at all.

15 is definitely a rough age.

Maybe it's also being 15 in today's modern society that sucks.

Being 15 four decades ago wasn’t a live-action Disney movie either.

I think being 15 a couple of generations ago was better than being 15 today. If only for the lack of social media.

It's probably both because you're 15ish in a herd of many other 15ish year olds. Maybe the fun factor is amplified, but so is the suck factor. Even a few traumas can leave a lifetime of scarring.

High school is pretty fun in europe, especially where I am from. First year of high school is when you start drinking alcohol, smoking, going out, parties, girls, really all the cool stuff. Its the period when you step into the world of adolescence. But of course american high school experience is nothing like this and its rather depressing, considering I lived in the US and have known few high schoolers that were family friends of mine. They all were just drowned in homework, stayed at home, and played video games nonstop.

Euro teens seem a lot more comfortable in their own skin than American teens.

What percent of students learn to pull stats out of thin air?

Everyone I knew then, even the "cool kids," thought high school was some bleak hell punctuated with moments of extraordinary joy. I have no idea whether that's due to hormones or school or what.

I know a few people who had the time of their lives in high school. Maybe 15% is high, I was just proxying the popular kids. I'm sure some of them were miserable. But some non-popular kids probably had a decent time.

It’s probably the same ratios when working in a large corporation.