High School Flashback

It's hard to believe that next month I will have lived in Austin for 1o years. And that means...

10 YEAR HIGH SCHOOL REUNION!

I'm actually excited about my reunion, and for the most part, so are other classmates. What I'm not excited about is the date of the reunion - September 3rd. Some people were upset with the date because it is once school starts and will be hard for them to come into town with their kids in school. My reason is much more important than kids... September = start of college football! That is the Saturday of the first Longhorn game. It's not ideal that I miss the first game of the season - or any game at all for that matter. Must I remind my readers that I have only missed two games in my season ticket tenure - Notre Dame in 1997 for my brother's wedding and OSU in 2008 for Derek and Denise's wedding. I don't actually mind too much missing the Rice game; however, I have to work the tailgates and we only get one game off. I feel that it will be a waste to use it against Rice instead of on a bigger game where I can go tailgate with friends. With the game time set for 6 p.m., there's no way that I can work until 5:45 p.m. and then drive down to Calallen in time. So it looks like I will have to take the game off. Boo hiss.

So anywho, in preparation for my reunion, I thought I would do a fun little post about the person I was in high school, complete with some pictures. Feel free to laugh... I certainly did.

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General reflections before we get into the pictures:

Physical appearance
I have always been midget size. You will be able to see this in a few of the pictures. I was very self-conscious of my figure. I wasn't fat, but I definitely wasn't skinny. I was actually curvy and would kill to have that figure again. However, my curvy body was out of place at my school and so I felt ashamed and shied away from going to the beach with friends... which is a big problem when you live on the coast.  Oh, and I was always tan. I spent hours outside every day of the week. It wasn't until senior year that some of my friends realized I wasn't Mexican but in fact was just really tan. And the gap in my teeth - GAH! Back in high school it was a bit wider... I used to say that it was like a slot machine and someone could put a quarter in it. I was constantly told (and still am to this day) that I had pepper in my teeth. Sighhh. 

Personal style
Because I was self-conscious of my body, I spent most of my freshman year hiding it under baggy jeans and too big t-shirts. My shoes of choice were flip flops or tennis shoes. Then I spent entirely too much money on stupid shirts from Pacific Sunwear, or PacSun as it is now called. I went through a phase where I wore short-sleeved button down shirts open with a tank top underneath. Oh, and these horrible chokers. That was my accessory of choice for about a year or so. My hair style of choice was about shoulder length. Freshman year I had the bangs that I was trying to grow out. Sophomore year I got a haircut that all the females were envious. I don't say that to sound snobby; I got so many compliments from people about my hair. I was actually a bit peeved when someone went and got a similar haircut because she liked it so much. I guess it was the "Rachel" cut of my high school. The next year I whacked my hair off... it was by far the shortest my hair has ever been (couldn't put it into a ponytail). Holy shit balls, with the ridiculously short hair and my PacSun shirt/choker wearing style, I looked a bit lessie. And I never colored my hair. It stayed it's natural dark color all four years. But anywho, I didn't care about clothes. I never wore dresses. But I did iron everything, much to my mom's dismay... she just didn't understand that the crease in my t-shirts bothered me. Yes, I was about to sweat in the shirt, but it would be a crease-less sweaty shirt.

Academics
I was smart, but I didn't really go all out in high school. I'm not sure why I didn't take more AP classes. Oh well. I graduated 17th in my class of 463. My SAT score was crap, but I didn't care. I knew I was going to be automatically admitted to a Texas school, so I didn't bother to retake the test. My favorite subjects in school were English (obvs), history (obvs), statistics, and my sports class.

Extracurricular activities
I was definitely the sporty girl. Freshman year I played volleyball, basketball and softball. I was by far in the best shape of my life that year. Sophomore year I played basketball and softball. There was drama with volleyball that made me very sad/bitter that year. I quit basketball after sophomore year, so junior and senior years were just softball. In addition, I was in Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), Latin Club, Student Council, National Honor Society (NHS), and Powder Puff. Flipping through my yearbook, I'm in a picture with the Young Republicans - wearing a letterman jacket, no less! Yeah, the Young Republicans picture has like 100 people in it while the Young Democrats only has about 5. No idea why I was in that picture. I definitely had a good laugh looking at it. Oh, how things change.

One other thing... yes, I played softball. No, I'm not a lesbian. Mmkay, glad we cleared that up.

Popularity
My group of friends and I were moderately popular. Some were definitely the more popular ones in school. We hung out all through high school, carpooling to away games together, celebrating birthdays, Christmas parties, etc. We were the sporty, smart, friendly, very involved with school activities crowd. Our school was very integrated. Despite the class size of 463, everyone pretty much got along. While we may not have hung out after school hours together, we were all friendly to one another. I can't remember anyone being bullied, but you never know. And while I had lots of friends, I never had a boyfriend. Boys weren't into me for whatever reason. They wanted me to give them answers to their homework problems, but they didn't want to go out with me. Eh, I didn't care. They weren't my type. Most of the guys in our school were always high/drunk/getting into trouble. That wasn't my scene. Oh yeah, I didn't drink. I never drank. I didn't go to parties where there was alcohol. I was a good girl.

*****

9th grade

For some reason I don't have a class portrait hanging around. 

No idea why we didn't take a volleyball picture.

Freshman basketball... don't even get me started on our coach that is posing in front. He was like a drill sergeant. It was his first year, and he was on a mission to prove himself. The JV and Varsity teams felt sorry for us, saying that our workouts were way tougher than theirs. People would get sick during our workouts. But I guess it worked. We were a tough team and remained undefeated through the season. I scored a whopping 9 points the entire season (did I mention that I sucked at basketball and only played 2-3 minutes a game, but only if we were way ahead?).

JV softball... I started the season as the starting catcher because the coach said he needed someone tough. That's right - I might be a midget, but I'm a feisty midget. I could hurl the ball down to 2nd base and throw out runners and I could block home plate and take a hit from a runner sliding in. Then I got moved up to starting pitcher. When I wasn't playing pitcher or catcher, I was at short stop. I also traveled with the Varsity team for tournaments and playoffs and played a few games with them.

School play... I was in theater class and, naturally, loved it. My teacher encouraged me to audition for the school play, 12 Dancing Princesses. I was cast as Hilda, the sleepy princess. Yeah, it didn't take much for me to get into character. We didn't have a costume designer, so we were responsible for our own dresses. My mom made mine, with much input in the design from me. After the play and the rest of my theater class, my teacher wanted me to continue acting. However, she wanted me to quit sports in order to do it. That wasn't coolio with me, so my acting career ended with my stint as a yawning princess.

*****

10th grade

Class portrait... UGH. And you can see my PacSun shirt/choker style.

JV basketball... not sure what happened to my group shot. Here is the haircut I mentioned earlier. You can't see much since it's so dark, but there are short layers throughout.

Hanging out with friends after a basketball game. My friend Patricia (in the middle) is 6'2". During practice freshman year, we both went up for a rebound. Needless to say, I lost that battle and ended up with stitches under my eye.

JV softball... I got screwed and was kept on the JV team instead of Varsity because they needed a pitcher. I hated pitching with a passion, but there was nobody else. Again, I traveled with Varsity to tournaments and play-offs. Not sure where the group shot is. I remember this day... it was windy and cold and we were yelling at the photographer to hurry and take the picture. 

Port Aransas with friends for Patricia's birthday. Looking at these pictures makes me sad. Again, I was so ashamed of my body so I kept it covered. Now I'm jealous of my skinny and tan body.

*****

11th grade

Class portrait... this is the lessie look I was talking about. And again, the stupid PacSun shirt/choker look.

Varsity softball... I ousted a senior for her spot at 3rd base, which didn't sit very well with her. Then our 1st baseman got injured, so I moved over there. My coach was surprised when he saw me leaping and stretching to the point of doing the splits to get an out. I ended up playing 1st base the rest of the season. Have you ever seen a 5' 1/2" tall 1st baseman?

*****

12th grade

Senior portraits

Homecoming... I was on the Homecoming Court as Softball Sweetheart. Which meant I needed to buy a dress... which ended up being the first formal dress I've ever worn. And I got my hair done for the first time. And I wore make-up. Basically, the entire night was a first for me. When I walked up to get in line, a guy friend turned around and said, "whoa, you look like a girl." As it happened, the Baseball Beau, Josh, was my bad boy crush.

Senior Dress Up Day... most of you are well aware of my costume. Oompa Loopma. This came about because my softball uniform looked ridiculous on me - my male coach was not informed that women's pant sizes are different then men's and that white pants are not good for girls. So I decided to play up my nickname and dress the part. My mom and I kept the movie paused on a certain spot for over a week as we sketched out the costume and bought materials. Then we put the whole shebang together ourselves. A friend, Heather, loved doing hair and volunteered to do mine, which came out perfectly. I was told that my costume was the best. 

Varsity softball... I was captain of the team and played 2nd base. It was more emotional for me the last game of the year. I had been playing organized ball since 5th grade, and it was finally coming to an end. There's something about being on a team. I learned a lot of lessons through my years playing sports.

Senior girls... Powder Puff champs 3 of 4 years. And then at a Christmas party.

Prom... I almost didn't go. I really had no desire to go, and I had no date. But I was convinced by my friends. So for the second time in my high school career, I bought a formal dress, had my hair done, and put on make-up. More comments about me looking like a girl...sheesh. We didn't have a Prom King/Queen but instead had senior superlatives. Weeks before, all the seniors were given a ballot during homeroom with different categories... Mr. and Mrs. CHS, Best Personality, Most Likely To Succeed, Best Dressed, etc. I was surprised when my name was called - Prettiest Smile. As luck would have it, my male counterpart was bad boy crush, Josh (who was also my Homecoming Court escort). See, it was meant to be. Oh, the guy in the picture with me is Rudy. We were friends and flirted a lot during statistics class. Found out after prom that he wanted to ask me but his friend asked him before he had a chance. Sighhh. We kept in touch for the first couple of years when I was at UT.

Graduation... we are not allowed to talk about my graduation ceremony in my family. In this group of pictures, there is only one that was actually taken at graduation (the bottom picture). The others are from graduation rehearsal/get your honors cords night. My graduation ceremony was on a Thursday night at 7 p.m. Because I was a smart kid, I walked the stage within the first few minutes. My family decided not to see through the other names, so they took off to the restaurant. Except nobody told me. So I spent about an hour searching for my family after the ceremony to get a hug/be congratulated/take pictures. And nothing. Not a single picture of me and my mom/brothers/family at my graduation. So it's a known fact that we don't mention that night, as it is a very sore subject for me.

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My Life in 10 Years

For economics class, we had to make a poster of where we see ourselves in 10 years. Our teacher laminated and returned it so we could hold on to it. I recently found mine when I was going through old storage bins back home in Corpus. 

Left to right...

• I knew back then that I didn't want kids and I made it known on my poster. I'm happy to report that I have accomplished that.
• The next Barbara Walters, I am not. I dabbled at the thought of pursuing a career in broadcast journalism.
• I don't think the Eiffel Tower meant I wanted to go to Paris but rather it just stood for travel. I haven't been to Paris, and I haven't traveled internationally since my month stint in Germany back in high school. I did finally see snow firsthand and went skiing just a few months ago.
• I no longer want a cat. And I have Presley, the crazy terror of a dog.
• Ha, I definitely don't have a house, and I definitely won't ever be able to afford the one in the picture.
• SUV, got it. I love my Honda CR-V.
• California... sighhh. I would love to live in San Diego.

So yeah, my life didn't exactly pan out the way I imagined it 10 years ago.

*****

One final picture because it's hilarious. I've been a contact lens wearer since middle school. I never ever wore my glasses... only at night when nobody was around.

And here is why...