The TikTok creator returned to her hometown and discovered that her former classmates were still caught up in their school years, unable to move past them.
On Aug. 28, @spiceoflifevlogs uploaded a clip about running into old classmates and former tormentors at a TJ Maxx located close to her former high school. The post has gathered over 289,000 likes, and it prompted a wave of viewer reactions from people who shared tales of individuals they know who have not moved past their school years.
Running Into Lindsay Johnson
A former classmate named Lindsay Johnson approached the creator in the store. She said she had returned to their hometown after college and now works at their old school. This explains why she was there as well.
The creator says Johnson runs theater productions without holding an education degree. That detail alone is striking enough, but it grows stranger still: Johnson herself has admitted to once mocking students who were into theater.
“She said, ‘I’m making it to where they’re not losers anymore,'” the creator recalled.
Johnson went on to introduce his wife’s husband, who was their former high school football coach. The creator noted that they had tied the knot the year before.
Brunch With the Women From School
She went to brunch with Johnson and other women from school, and it caught her off guard. To her, these women remained strongly connected to who they were in high school.
One woman was allegedly still wearing the school uniform’s skirt, while another worked as a yoga instructor. Two more admitted they had sold pottery on Etsy, though they later confessed they were really dropshipping. Every one of these women was either dating or married to someone who had worked at their high school back when they were students.
Commenters focused heavily on those relationships with former school staff.
“Dating/married to someone you taught is absolutely wild!!!!!” one wrote.
A reader remarked on how strange it was that a person who used to be in the creator’s class instructed her to address the coach by his given name.
“‘High school is so in the past’ girl, not when you married it,” they joked.
Viewers Share Their Own Stories
A steady stream of readers has stepped forward to describe their own encounters with former schoolmates who never let go of past grudges.
One recounted a former bully who now complains on Facebook about her own child being bullied. Another remembered a former classmate who still works at the same job decades later, often bringing up his high school basketball wins.
A few people remarked that they purposefully abandoned their birthplaces. One person explained they relocated to Australia and started afresh, so coming back felt like encountering a stranger rather than their former self. A second individual shared that upon finishing school in 2020, they cut off almost everybody who had wronged them during high school.
Commenters kept returning to the idea of “peaking in high school.”
The Creator’s Verdict
The video closed with the creator admitting that the meal she enjoyed left her unsure about returning to the place where she grew up.
“I don’t think I wanna go back,” she concluded.
The Numbers Behind the Video
- TikTok creator: @spiceoflifevlogs
- Post date: Aug. 28
- Video likes: more than 289,000
- Location: TJ Maxx near the creator’s old high school
- Verification: The Daily Dot could not independently verify the events
School days come to an end for most, yet for a few, they persist long after graduation.
Source: dailydot.com
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.