I was very confused.

raised Catholic, wanted to be a nun at one point (two aunts were nuns)

started high school playing flute in the band, and being a majorette... getting straight As, in honors classes, was runner up for freshman homecoming princess, in the talent show, on the drill team, the yearbook staff, the poetry club, and the drama club... took part in Arsenic and Old Lace, Diary of Anne Frank, and Hedda Gabler.

but, strange things were going on a few miles north in San Francisco, and the Summer of Love, and the hippies arrived, with their drug experimentation, wearing beads and feathers.

then, there was Vietnam, with my friends' older brothers getting drafted, the protests, Kent State, Nixon, Watergate, and the world was all changing so fast I could hardly understand it.

I was torn... between what was expected, and what was possible.

what was expected was to wait until marriage, become a housewife, and have many babies.

I knew I didn't want that, and would be as miserable as my poor mom, with six kids...

had sex anyway, and then felt TERRIBLY, awfully, horribly guilty...

started smoking pot, cutting school, ran away from home, dropped acid a couple of times, and my father had me "put away" in juvenile hall.

the court decided I was "incorrigible" and I got stuck in a foster home, my parents divorced... (mom was furious with dad for having me locked up), and my family splintered, and scattered to the winds.

in general, I was a total freaking mess.

then, just as everyone ELSE started down that twisted path, the foster home burned to the ground (started by a crazed teen) and I lost all my precious things, yearbooks, photos, clothes, everything...

suddenly... I was on my own... and I turned EVERYTHING around, went back to school at 17, finished the two years I'd missed (in 6 months flat, with day and night classes), graduated with straight As, and became a productive mentally-healthy person, with a job, and a brand new start on life...

now, aren't you sorry you asked?

Interesting thread.

I was extremely unremarkable in every aspect.

Very quiet (can you believe it?)

Like Karousel, I wish I would have had some direction/encouragement from parents.

High school I am just now getting my g.e.d. Guess you can all tell what I was like

Boring. Nice. National Honor Society, editor of school newspaper. I didn't have a driver's license because our family didn't have a car anymore (Dad had MS). I had skipped a grade, so I was the youngest in my class. Pollyanna.

I had friends in different strata of social groups, got along with everybody, but pretty shy. I loved English, Creative Writing, French. Hated anything resembling math. Wrote poetry in study hall.

I was sick a lot, didn't do sports but put on lots of miles walking.

Used to hang out with friends in the nearby town of Unity NH back before it was famous for anything.

Pretty much the same way I am now....except a LOT more vulnerable and naive. I was in several clubs, especially in my senior year. I knew people from all "groups" and had a wide variety of friends......funny, I never got caught up in the drug scene even though it was rampant during the 70's.

I think it upset my parents that I didn't go to college (I went but at night and couldn't handle the full time work plus school schedule). But....they never really encouraged me to go in the first place. Weird.

I married 1 year after I graduated high school. Never regretted it.

Always in trouble, though I thought that I was the perfect student. Apparently? Not. I was suspended a few times, and ... I think some of that related to boredom. Schools couldn't decide if I was "gifted" or lame; they kept me bouncing between "gifted"/honor or AP classes and remedial classes, where other students threatened to beat my ***** if I didn't do their work, along with my own. Geeze, that was sure a lot of work .

I dropped out of H.S. after the principal gave me his telephone number and wanted to ... well, y'know. I didn't realize that he could have been reported.

So... I went to college instead of finishing H.S. I think I was more suited for college; I edited the campus newspaper, was pres. of the Journalism Club, Pres. of the Marketing Club (and loved the competitions), was named Mktg. Student of the Year, and completed a couple of internships - social service and advertising.

Hated, hated, hated H.S.

P.S.: I forgot to state, I didn't do/use drugs. Maybe I should have. Gawd knows nothing else seemed to be going as well as it could have.

Well, I guess I was a mix. National Honor Society - most classes were advanced placement(math, science, english).

Ran cross country and track up thru 11th grade. Working was emphasis though.

I actually got talked into being in the drama club in the 11th grade.

And a total, complete freak. Pot/beer.

Always had a girlfriend.

I wasn't in the in-crowd.

Tom

By the time I entered high school, I had given up on society altogether and I was filled with rage over having to deal with mom's continual suicide attempts. It was the height of the Viet Nam war and racial tensions were high. It was the first year my high school started bussing in black kids (desegregation). It was an interesting introduction to people of another color.

I resented all authority figures because they had always turned their backs on me when I cried for help with my mother. Teachers were even worse - they accused me of being lazy and stupid. It was hard to get excited over math and science when my biggest concern was wondering if I'd go home to find my mother dead - and how big the mess would be. One teacher told me to stop staring at the clock because every second that passed by was a second closer to my death. Gee, lady, thanks for getting my mind off of death.

I had one teacher who taught shorthand, and I despised her clueless enthusiasm. At the end of the year, she told me "Kathy I'm going to give you a D because I know you need the credit, but promise me you won't take Shorthand II next year because you don't have what it takes." I was so insulted, I stormed out of the class, swearing under my breath.

I realized then the only way I could escape from my hellhole was to focus on my education.

I spent the entire summer practicing shorthand. My friends helped by dictating the newspaper to me. At home, I practiced with my radio. That is why I know the lyrics to all the songs of the 60s-70s.

I signed up for Shorthand II. When I walked into the classroom, you could almost see steam coming out of my teacher's ears. I fooled her though. Not only was I her star student, I qualified to take a college-credit career training course while in high school graduated with honors

I always wanted to find her and thank her, but the school didn't know of a Miss Hall. I mentioned her again when I was registering my son for high school, and a woman said "OH, you mean Mrs. Hill! - she's right over there.

I walked up to her with my son. She looked at me funny and said "I had you, didn't I?" When I told her my name, her face lit up and said "MY SUCCESS STORY! I tell my students about you every year!"

High School:

I was into smoking pot, drinking, cutting classes, boyfriends who were at least 4 years older than me and ran away from home once. I was given the choice by the school principal to either leave school on my own or get expelled - I left on my own.

Two months after leaving High School I enrolled in The Youth Career Action Program (YCAP) and had my GED at 17 years old.

Quiet and shy. My yearbook picture said I was "nice to know". Played clarinet in the marching band and hated it. Met my husband there and we married at age 19...everyone said it would never last...just celebrated our 50th anniversary in Feb.