I just attended my 30th high school reunion. Frankly, it was something I never thought I would do. I graduated from high school in 1980. I was the only black girl in my class of 834 students. (That's NOT a typo and we aren't counting the kids who didn't graduate.) My parents moved us out to the suburbs and while I took advantage of a great educational system, I always thought I missed out on something.
Besides me, there was only one other black kid in my class. We hardly spoke to each other. I was a B student and didn't date. I sang in chorus and was in drama club. I played sports and was captain of my field hockey team: my mom hated that. (She didn't think girls should play sports.)l I wrote for the school paper and my guidance counselor "planted" the seeds for my journalism career.I remember going to prom and not enjoying the "hard rock" music being played. I have mixed feelings about high school.
College is a different story. I really blossomed. I finally got black girlfriends who I could share secrets with and found more people that looked like me with my similar musical tastes, literary influences, and had my first real boyfriend. I was a Purdue University tour guide. and wrote for the college's Black Cultural Center (BCC) newsletter. I was a member of the New Directional Players, a black drama troupe. (I appeared in the shows: For Colored Girls and The Color Purple) I no longer had to worry about being cast for a part and if people would believe that a black person could play the part. My younger sister took pride in telling my former drama teacher that I had one of the leads in For Colored Girls.
I also became the first black student to be inducted into the College's Reamer Honorary Society. I didn't realize what a BIG deal it was until I met our college President. In my senior year, I won the BCC's Howard G. McCall undergraduate award and my parents flew out for the ceremony unbeknown to me. What a scary thought. lolol
I went to my five-year high school and nothing had really change. The cliches still existed, but I got to see my group of friends and we ended up leaving the gathering and huddling up at another location. The music wasn't loud and we could really talk.
Fast forward...30 years later. One of my dearest friend from my high school circle is gone. He died from a freak accident while working as an actor at Disney.
People pretty much look the same: we're just older now. My high school friends and I get together about three to four times a year. We now share our life experiences, our high school pain, our dreams, and we celebrate our friendships.
I also learned that others have shared similar stories and I'm surprised. It never occurred to me that THEY didn't even like high school. I never thought that white kids couldn't be happy attending a predominately white school. I listen to stories now and it seems like we attended to different high schools. My parents were strict. I didn't drink or do drugs. I managed to mix and mingle with everyone. There are so many things I just wasn't aware of that. And that's OK.
While my high school gave me my start, I'm so thankful for so many things. I have kept my core group of friends close, got a great education, and I've seen how far I've come. It made me who I am. While you couldn't PAY to go back to high school, I also learned what doesn't kill you makes you stronger; my high school experience did just that.
Posted By: Marsha Jones
Wednesday, October 20th 2010 at 11:46AM
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