Flashback Friday: Writing Your Story One Week at a Time

 

When Ryan and I talk about growing up in the same town, living not that far from each other, and yet not really being friends back in those days, we have to explain to people what we were like in high school. For Ryan, it’s not that much different than what he’s like now. For me? A marked difference.

            When writing about your life, you should include a little bit about what your life was like in high school. It might not hold the fondest of memories, but it’s worth documenting. Times change so much in such a short time. The life of a high school student today vs. 20 years ago vs. 40 years ago…wow! Huge changes.

            So what was life like for you in high school?

·         What kind of job did you have?

·         What kind of school did you attend? (Public, Private, Homeschool)

·         How did you get to school?

·         What kinds of classes did you take?

·         What was homework like?

·         How did you dress?

·         What extracurriculars were you involved in?

I grew up in a small town and went to public school, but my class was the smallest in the school. There were 80 students in my graduating class, and most of them were boys. The classes above and below us were larger and highly academic. Had I landed in either of those classes, I would have faded into academic oblivion, but I was able to hold my own in my graduating class.

At that time, our elementary school held grades K-6 and the middle and high schools were combined into a singular building. Our middle school was located in the upstairs of a wing of classrooms, with the high school classes spread throughout the main floor of the building. Because my parents worked at the school, I rode with them until I got my license, and then I sometimes drove myself to school – especially if I needed to stay late for something or go to a babysitting job after school let out.

My goal was to get the best grades I could, so I took the easiest classes possible to try to succeed. I loved all four years of English/Language Arts and did very well in those classes. (No surprise there, right?) Math was a challenge. I tried Algebra and managed to pass without learning anything. Same for Geometry. I finished my 3 years of math with Consumer Math which was the easy way out, but it was also the best and most practical math class I ever took. I still believe all students should have taken it. I did okay in Biology, though my teacher didn’t like me. I took Chemistry and was issued a passing grade. I did not earn it. It was pure grace. I don’t think I took any other science, and looking back now, I wonder if I would have done better if I’d had teachers whose teaching styles I better understood.

I did well in the history/geography classes, but I didn’t enjoy them. My favorite classes were ALL the home economics classes. I took everything they offered in my four years there. I also loved typing, and yes, that was on an actual typewriter with corrective tape and the whole bit. I enjoyed yearbook and would have loved it if the teacher had known what she was doing. (She was a first year teacher who had zero training in this subject and had no idea how to teach it. She would tell you that herself.)

We studied from textbooks, not tablets. I hauled them around in my backpack and stored them in the bottom of my locker. Notebooks, RSVP pens, index cards for term papers….ahhh. The library got the internet at the very end of my high school career, but I never learned how to use it until college.

We had homework nearly every night, and I hated it. Well, unless it involved writing. Then it wasn’t so bad.

I wasn’t involved in much outside of school. I did manage the baseball team my senior year. That was about it. I was also terribly shy and rarely made eye contact with anyone who wasn’t a close friend. (This is how Ryan and I never managed to strike up a friendship back then.) I always had my nose in a book or just sat on the sideline hoping not to be noticed.

Bullies were a thing, though we didn’t know to call them that. I had a few. They were awful. I can’t imagine how much worse it would have been had social media existed. For as much as I love it now, I’m glad it wasn’t part of my life then.

I was so glad to graduate. I was sure college would be a fresh start for me, and in many, many ways, it was. You couldn’t pay me to go back. Even with taxes, I’ll take adulthood! 😊

How about you? What was high school like in your world?