What was I like in High School?
(This is for Scarlet. I was afraid it would get too long to put in her comments.)
Around these here parts, High School is grades 9-12, so I’m trying to keep it within those years (1971-1974).
I was pretty lazy when it came to school work. Most of my grades were at least a “C”. One of my science teachers mercifully gave me a “D” one year, even though I didn’t earn it. He was a good enough teacher, I just had some kind of mental block and wouldn’t allow myself to learn his subject. When I went to college in 1985, I earned an “A+” in his subject, which causes me to think that youth is not wasted on the young, but maybe education is. So I wasn’t a brain by any stretch of the imagination.
I was as much of an athlete as they allowed girls to be back then. I did very well in track at the long distances – at least until I started smoking. The longest distance a girl could compete in at that time was the 880. That was when it was still measured in yards, not meters. 880 was twice around the track and I qualified for State one year, where I came in 8th or 9th. I was also on an 880 relay team that still holds the school record. We didn’t have a girl’s basketball team at my school, but we played volleyball. We also qualified for state tournament my Sophomore year and I got to play for a few minutes. I really wasn’t tall enough to be a good spiker and I was too skinny to muster up a power serve. In the summers, I played on a fast-pitch softball team. We weren’t very good. One of the girls’ moms was the coach and I think my mom was her assistant. We mostly just showed up and played.
Another thing I enjoyed competing in was Declam. The Declam team had several categories: poetry, prose, drama, extemporaneous speaking and so on. I did readings in poetry and prose and participated in the drama. Our Declam coach was very liberal minded. We met at his basement apartment for practices and he’d let us smoke. I’m sure he would have gotten into deep trouble if we’d gotten caught.
The thing I most enjoyed was the music activities; I was in Mixed Chorus, Girls Glee, Swing Choir, marching band, pep band and concert band. For as small of a school as we were, we always managed to really kick butt when it came to music competitions. That was always a lot of fun.
I think if you asked any of the 32 people I graduated with about me, they would remember me as kind of a flake. Not really very smart, but fairly good at some things. I remember feeling lonely a lot of times. My dad died when I was 13 and I had a lot of trouble coming to terms with that. I didn’t get into a lot of trouble in High School, but that was because I was good at being sneaky and didn’t get caught.
I’d continue with this and post some of the things I’m ashamed of, but my kids read this once in a while and I’d be embarrassed to have them know certain things about my past.
SO, now it’s someone else’s turn; what were YOU like in High School?
