Cheryl tagged me for this game thingy so I'm playing along.
1.I went to a school that had Kindergarten thru 9th grade so we were kinda like seniors when we were really just freshman. We had a big graduation and everything. It was the end of school for many people, they never completed high school. Those of us who were bused to another city for high school ended up struggling to catch up. Going from a school with less than 500 people K-9th to a school with 500 people in just one class was overwhelming.
2. I was a cheerleader for 7th through 9th grade but didn't try out at the new school. I took cheering very seriously, practiced daily, and was head cheerleader my last two years. I've got spirit, yes I do, I've got spirit, how 'bout you?
3. I graduated high school without ever learning my multiplication tables or how to read a pronunciation key, but I was in the Advanced Placement program and graduated with honors and near the top of my class.
4. I was also a fan of high school clubs ... Spanish, Science, Key, FBLA, FHA, etc and had some stuff published in a literary journal. I thought participating in all of that stuff, being an elected officer of some sort in all of them of course, would help me get into college. I wanted to go to a state college. I had never even heard of Harvard or Yale. I'm not kidding.
5. One year I went to The National Leadership Forum several states away and stayed in college dorms for a week. I was so homesick that I decided maybe college wasn't for me. Which was funny because I could not wait to get away from my parents and sister, yet I was scared and lonely without that support base. I didn't even apply to any colleges. My parents told me they couldn't afford it anyway, so I thought that meant I couldn't go.
6. I got a small scholarship to a local community college thanks to the Home Ec teacher nominating me. I was her teacher's assistant for several years and took all my teen angst out on her. I never apologized for that or told her thanks for all she did. She teaches middle school now and I wonder if it wasn't because we teens scared her away. I fully intend to look her up and write her a letter of thanks but I keep putting it off until I can write to her that I have succeeded in life and I still feel that I haven't. But if it weren't for her, I wouldn't have gone to college at all.
7. After the scholarship ran out I only went to college for a couple of semesters before having to quit. I had bought a house and was working two jobs and it was all just too much. I went off and on to the same college over the years as I could afford a class or two. I finally graduated from that community college when I was 30 years old. The very next year I graduated from a 4 year institution, all paid for out of pocket.
8. I can pick things up with my toes.
9. I didn't stop biting my finger nails until well into adulthood. As a kid I used to also bite my toenails. Yes, gross.
10. A coworker gave me a cat once and I named her Demetria. She was too wild to stay indoors and would get pregnant right after giving birth so I was never able to get her spayed. One of the litters of kittens managed to survive and I named them Cosmo, Blanco, Karma, Kismet, and I forget the rest. The neighbors dog ate some of them so I don't recall their names. Blanco got killed by the dog right in front of my eyes. Cosmo had one blue eye and one green eye and was mostly white except for a small patch of gray hair on his forehead. He was my sweet kitty. He kept getting into skirmishes with a male from a previous litter and so he went into the woods one day and didn't come back when I called. A year or two passed and he didn't come home.
When my sister was in a mental hospital and I was dealing with all that stuff and my parents were being unpleasant not to mention unhelpful and my girlfriend and I were having problems and working 12 hour shifts in a cotton mill was exhausting me and I thought that I wasn't going to be able to hang in there much longer, Cosmo appeared on the back deck. He came inside and ate catfood and let me pet him while I cried. Then he meowed to go outside and I never saw him again. That was 10 years ago. But his appearance gave me the strength I needed at the time.
I Miss My Very Normal Niece
18 minutes ago
6 comments:
I really like these! And I have comments. My partner teaches at a community college, so I'm always interested to hear stories of how people get to CCs and where they go from there.
I can pick things up with my toes too. I remember reading somewhere that almost no men can, but I don't remember what the genetic rationale for that was.
And was your cat Cosmo deaf? My neighbors growing up had a deaf white cat with different-colored eyes and again I've read something (that might be totally spurious) about how those often go together.
I almost don't want to say this, but I really respect you going ahead and being open about your bi history even knowing that people like LK are going to be misusing whatever you say. It speaks well of you.
Thanks for playing! I think you've done really well and should write that teacher! You've come a long way. If you don't think so you don't have to share, just saying thanks would make her year :)
That whole cat thing freaks me out! It makes me think that it wasn't really him. Maybe it was God sending comfort in the way you needed it when you needed it most. Eerie ans cool!
I used to bite my toenails too, not that I especially wanted to share, just give you a sign of solidarity. I can't imagine REACHING my toenails now, even though I am pretty flexible (despite the fact that insulin has now made me fat, I can scare people with my flexibility).
I don't recall Cosmo being deaf. It seems like he would come inside when I called him, but so much time has passed that I can't be certain. I'm pretty open with my sexuality IRL. I tend to overshare actually. That's why I fit in so well here in the bible belt. *snort*
Well it wasn't a Pet Cemetery moment although if he were to come back now I might be a little freaked out. Maybe not as freaked out as if Karma came back since she is buried in the front yard, but still. I'm not religious but knew that some might construe what I wrote to mean something religion affirming. No offense. I just have a hard time believing that all our lives are pre planned and that god chooses which prayers to listen to and which lives to intervene in. Why send me a cat and let that 6 year old little girl be repeatedly sexually violated by every male in her household without sending her anything but genital warts, lifelong trauma, and infertility all while protecting the males from being arrested? Why let druggies spit out babies yet make good people infertile? Why do people who read some old book filled with mostly patriarchy affirming exaggerated campfire stories get to go to heaven while perfectly honest and good people in another country who don't subscribe to this particular books teachings go to hell? Why don't people question the inconsistencies in the bible? Why do people tend to praise jesus when anything good happens but let them get cancer and they start praying for it to go away. If it's His plan, then why not accept it? And now I should get off that soap box before it breaks. Sorry
Toenail bitters unite! LOL
Because our greatest gift (IMO) was free will. This is our realm, not His. Some, many, people choose to use that gift for evil.
I do question when bad things happen, when lives are used and taken. I still choose to believe in something better, different beyond here.
ps Nail biting aside, I think your old teacher would love to hear what you've done with your life. Success story you absolutely are. Even if you don't consider where you came from, but if you do, especially then.
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