That is a hard one to answer....In many ways I don't like who I was in my high school years, and in many ways I do. I was an A student and in many activities....National Honor Society, PEP club, Track, Annual Staff, Band (Marching band and performance) and anything that was going on that I could get to. I was't athletic, but was very wishful that I was. Tall...lanky...and uncoordinated. I was terrible at track, probably because we didn't know how to identify exercize induced Asthma back then, so I'd run great, congest up, hack, cough and sputter out. I attended every dance, play and function that I could get to. I was way too tooo toooo boy crazy (enough said on that embarassing point).
I had friends in all the different social groups, because I was involved in so many things. That includes partying. I was as bored and restless as a kids gets (proof that keeping a bright kid busy does NOT keep them out of trouble....wish I had a simple answer on what would have worked, but I don't.), and my parents, especially my dad and his family, were not exactly an example of stability and guidance.
Unfortunately and fortunately, I was smart enough to never get caught at what I was doing, so I was never kicked out of any school function, arrested or harmed myself. The only GOOD thing was I was also smart enough to never get out of control (never passed out, never threw up...I was usually asked to be the designated driver because I always quit drinking about an hour before cerfew), sometimes I even faked smoking and drinking just to be a part of that crowd....I knew a person could die from the partying life-style, but I was just so desparate to fell accepted and liked by everyone all the time.
Even during all of that, though we didn't attend Church often...usually only Mass with my step-grandparents, or church when I visited my mom and her side of the family, or sometimes with friends when I went for a sleepover, (my dad was in his Agnostic phase of life at that point...now he is a practicing Unitarian) the connection I had with Christ that had been established when I was young kept me praying through that those years. I also think that protected me and kept me somewhat focussed.
So, yes, a lot of friends, a few close ones, who strangely were not close with each other, they were all from different "groups".
I didn't give a speech at commencement, but two of my friends did. My statement was in my artwork. I was voted most artistic and creative in the class, and drew and painted our class's prom backdrop, class wall murel (each class had one on the lunch room walls), and designed the covers of programs for events like the gymnastics finals. Sadly, this made enemies for me of some of the girls....I had moved there in 10th grade, and they were the "art group" who never let me hang with them. I had stolen their thunder that year. They were town girls, and I was from the country.
Was the school a good place? Um, my last statement would tell you that there was a lot of social strata stuff happenning. The education was good, the social snobbery that happened was terrible between the "townies" and "hicks" (you were a "hick from the sticks" if you didn't live in town...the exception being if you had a lake-home).
Some kids drove bran new cars at graduation. I was still driving my father's truck that carried pipe for water wells when I had enough babysitting money for gas, (if that gives you any idea of the catagory I was in, LOL).
Those were some very confusing years, where I made a lot off good choices, AND a lot of bad choices.
I had a couple of teachers who really inspired me. One was my track coach. Even though I was so inconsistent, his way of managing teams was about it being a team. We all cheered each other, no matter how we were doing. He did teach me good running form, and good technique. He was a great guy, and always sensitive to "girl" issues (can you imagine the "girl" issues he must have dealt with over the years?)
The other teacher was my Advanced Placement English teacher. He was such an intellectual guy. Super smart, and he seemed to pick up on the fact that I was always desparately floating around, never quite feeling accepted, never quite fitting in. He reassured me that the world was much bigger than our small town, and that I wasn't alone in my love of literature, science and art. He inspired me to not just read and write, but to embrace a lifetime of learning. He also taught great concepts about understanding symbolism and history through fictional literature. (we read The Grapes of Wrath, 1984, Watership Down, The Scarlet Letter, Martian Chronicles, and several other pieces that year).
The final one was my art teacher. She knew I wasn't going to go on for a degree in what I was probably most tallented at. It was the 80's, a recession, and jobs were not really out there for artists, so I was going to use my knack for life sciences to find my way in the world. She told me to just enjoy my talents, and use them as releases from the stresses in life....that perhaps there is a greater purpose for human talent, than just making money. I still do that with art and writing.
Mare, I'll pop back to your thread to learn about you as well.
