Entertainmenteen 3/2000
SLAYING HER DEMONS
Sarah Michelle Gellar talks about
high school and being different
Despite her mega-popularity as Buffy Summers on the WB's much acclaimed Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sarah Michelle Gellar knows what it's like to feel like an outsider. In fact, the New York native's high school freshman year was totally to the curb.
.......When Sarah started acting at age four, she found herself in a world where adults, not her peers, were her friends. It was in her freshman year at high school when her social skills didn't exactly work. She remembers, "I just did not fit in, and it was a very uncomfortable situation." But there was more. While a student, Sarah continued to pursue her career as, of course, her peers did not, and it seems that the powers that be were less than enthused. ..."They (educaters) have this theory that until they've taught you everything that you need to know you can't go out there and work..." she explains.
.......Despite Sarah's straight A record, the school threatened to flunk her because going to auditions resulted in several absences from class. Sarah enjoyed auditioning, but more to the point, she was not as wealthy as many of her fellow classmates, and admits that she never would have been able to afford private school if she hadn't worked. After almost three months of major unhappiness, Sarah made a break and transferred to New York City's Professional Children's School. It was the perfect fit. Other students like herself had erratic schedules and everyone was accepted for their differences. She explains, ..."Everybody was just kind of weird, you know. We were all sort of different... If someone didn't like you, they didn't ostracize you, you guys just weren't friends." Soon Sarah found herself with a close group of friends whom she still keeps in touch with to this day.
.......As for her role as the awesome Slayer, Sarah's favorite episode, "Earshot," (Buffy's discovery that despite cliques and appearances, everybody feels the same) seems to revolve around her own experiences. She says, "Everybody knows what it's like at some point to not fit in. Part of the episode had a lot to do with how people misunderstand other people. Everyone thinks that it's only their pain and it's only that, you know, that only they feel it. But everyone feels it on different levels..."
Dishing on Being Different
Blending is boring.
Just because everyone else is going out for the cheerleading squad, doesn't mean you have to. Pave your own path.
Express yourself.
Trying to be like everyone else takes lots of extra energy 'cause you're always censoring your true feelings. Keeping things bottled up is not only totally unhealthy, but uncool. Don't be a drone.
It's different people that make a difference.
Throughout history, it has been those people considered "different" who have changed our lives. How do you think Ben Franklin's neighbors reacted when they saw him flying a kite in the middle of a lightning storm? They probably thought he was strange, but without him, there'd be no CD players, TV and more...
