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These are all my school photos. I used ArtBooking for the titles & Locker Talk for the hopscotch, book stack & grad cap. I stamped the pencils and other items including all the school year tags.

Journaling on the back of the page reads:
School years 1970-1986 – what I remember-

I lived across the street from the school playground- the school was up on a hill. So I’d walk 2 housed down and then across & up the hill to the steps that took you over a drainage ditch & up on the edge of the playground. When you came up the school buildings were on the left, the big grass field (with baseball diamonds) was on the right & the volleyball and basketball courts were immediately in front with the swings and jungle gym all the way on the other side. Prunedale Elementary School (Prunedale, CA) was a Kindergarten thru 8th grade school. I’m thinking my mom or dad took me to Kindergarten, but I remember walking there and back- well 9 years’ worth is quite a lot of trips. Plus in the summer they played little league baseball there.

Kindergarten was a blast. Art. Stories. Playtime. Snack time. The only thing I didn’t like was nap time. I was so hyper I just couldn’t take a nap.

1st grade was the beginning of a nightmare thru to my 8th grade. Mrs. Cosby was a witch. I swore she had to be because she was so mean to me. She called me a cheat, a liar, a thief. This caused the other kids to judge & label me too, even though they may not have remembered exactly why- the distrust & dislike stuck. I was told much later that she had a habit of picking one bright student every year and using them for all the punishment and reason when things were lost or stolen. She took a jump rope from me that I had brought from home & gave it to another girl just because the other girl said it was hers. My name wasn’t on it & I was a thief & a liar so it couldn’t be mine she claimed. I had a very hard time expressing this to my parents. What 6 year old is articulate enough to relay the terror of her & my classmates who would take to teasing me during recess? I’d fake stomach aches trying to get out of going. Mom didn’t really understand it as I had been so eager to go to school & loved doing school things. I could read & add/subtract before I went to Kindergarten. I don’t remember having any friends from school for most of my remaining 8 years there. I used to wish that we would move so I could start over at another school.

Much of the years between 1st to 8th grade is riddled with being teased & bullied. I was smart & was also diagnosed with ADHD/ADD (one of those anyway) & given Ritalin I think in 3rd grade. I was called a bag of bones because I was so skinny. My mom made most of my clothes- for which they teased me for. She rarely bought anything but socks & underwear unless it would cost her more to make it- whether I liked it or not. I wore hand-me-downs from my cousins. Many times I was told I wore high waters or my shoes were ugly (mom bought 5-6 pair of maroon tennis shoes from Sears in that many sizes as I would grow into them & it was such a bargain). I hated those shoes. I earned money when I was in 7th-8th grade from babysitting and bought a couple pair of my own shoes.

When I went to high school I had to ride the bus as it was in Castroville 7 miles away. North Monterey County High School was the name & our mascot was the Condor. Not many schools pick a vulture as their mascot, but this one did. It was a new school & we would be the 2nd class to go all the way from Freshman to graduation there. I was so relieved to be in a new environment. No one teased me there. I made some friends. I worked my tail off and struggled to get good grades. I was mostly a B & C student. I took band in my Freshman year but couldn’t fit it in my college prep schedule after that. I got a boyfriend in my Junior year. Married him after college & divorced him a little less than year after that (but that’s another story). High school was emotional & I was faced with many real life issues like girls getting pregnant & dropping out or giving their baby up for adoption. A few classmates died- one in a drowning accident on senior cut day (we were really close to Monterey Bay & the beach from school)- a couple others in car accidents. I had a couple wrecks as well- one the fault of the other driver, the other environmental- but thankfully just a few dings on the car & no one was hurt.

I signed up for DeVry Institute of Technology Computer Information Systems Bachelor program the day I turned 18. I had been taking a computer class in my senior year of high school & did really well at the programming. It came easy to me. It was fun & I found I was kind of a geek. At least I finally fit in somewhere I thought. I left for Los Angeles in October to start college. I graduated in 3 years as it was a year round program. I had a 3.45 GPA & would have done better if I had not done the party thing. By the grace of God I survived those years. Thankfully the school being a tech atmosphere there wasn’t any frat houses or things like that. I had several adventures there- the McDonald’s massacre happened at a store I frequented- I always got my food to go, so thankfully was not there when the shooter walked in & started spraying everyone with bullets. Also the San Bernardino Highway shootings happened while I was there- and yes, I drove that highway.

It really wasn’t until they started putting bullying in the news that I really realized I was bullied as a child. It has affected my life but I don’t hate those that bullied me- nor do I wish them harm. I’ve come to realize that those people were mean because their home lives or such were bad & they took it out on an easy target- me. For a very long time I was self-conscious of my looks & never considered I was cute or pretty. As I got older, I learned how to not be such a target. I was still outspoken and would many times dive into a conversation without being invited, but I think overall I’m doing pretty good & wouldn’t trade where I am now for anything.

Thanks for looking & leaving a comment. Have a blessed day.


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