Above, yup that's me!
The opposite sex is always a major part of it - that journey through school - the struggles are all relative to the age you are but by the time you get to junior high, it starts getting more serious. I always felt way behind my friends when it came to girls - I knew I wasn't mature enough to handle some things in BF but I sure was observant about everything around me! I wanted to smoke. I wanted to wear the right clothes. I wanted people to like me. I wanted to get good grades. I wanted to be accepted. I put so much pressure on myself that it seemed impossible to achieve anything!
Honestly I loved BF but hated growing up during my 7th and 8th grade years - I had wished I could fast forward through it all.
The growing up thing had definitely distracted me from my schoolwork. I couldn't wait for the school year to end just to get away from the pressures I felt. Then there were the summers - that wonderful break between school years when not only the schoolwork would go away but all the social pressures that came with going to school too!
In the summers when I was 11, 12 and 13 I was a completely different person - I wasn't trying so hard to impress others and I was just being myself. I recently wrote in the Glen School blog about a girl I met in the summer for a fleeting moment when I was in 7th grade. It was at the beach. I saw her, asked if she would meet me on the beach later that night (it was early) and she said yes. There is something about being on vacation - nothing to lose - you won't see the person again if its a rejection ya know? Was I nervous asking her - definitely! Was I even confident she would show up - not really but I didn't care. I thought she was cute and the summer gave me the confidence I didn't have in school at that point - people don't know you when you're away - it gives you license in a way! I was able to be myself and be comfortable in my own skin as they say! It was a night I'll always remember and one where despite all the talk about girls - I didn't "try" anything - we simply talked. We were barefoot, tan - the ocean - it was perfect! But the kiss when we said goodnight - wow............ We wrote for a little bit and after a while didn't stay in touch but it was a great experience and great memory
- very special and I realized that hey I CAN deal with this thing called life! - that is until I got back to BF! I couldn't understand why I couldn't take the summer Ricky and merge him with the BF guy!
Above, click the arrow to watch a scene from "The Wonder Years" to the song "Seasons" by Elton John. That show was a lot of peoples lives and definitely mine!
Its funny looking back on friend's various takes on the fairer sex - each had an opinion on what we were supposed to do as boys - what was expected of us - what the girl expected from us! But it just starts out simple - there doesn't have to be a plan.
By 9th grade I was becoming more sure of myself but began hanging out with a guy who was definitely trouble. I learned a lot from him - you know about sex and things like that, drugs even, drinking - he was way ahead of me! I won't mention his name because that wouldn't be right but had I really gotten involved with him who knows where I would've ended up - he left high school - I couldn't imagine not graduating with my class. It was fun and exciting but I also wasn't a stupid kid - I navigated that episode pretty well!
Anyway by the time I graduated 9th grade I was a little more in the know.
By the time I reached high school - I would still struggle with schoolwork but developed a relationship with a girl from another town. For me it was an amazing relationship - one that was long term too. We had our ups and downs to be sure - there was heartbreak and moments of sheer joy but it would end a year or so after high school. There was the lunch time phone call on the pay phone at the main door at RHS - yes, I know - what love does to you when you're young! Still, dating someone from another school - it was exciting but the down side of course is less time at your own school. Oh there were times during a tough period in that relationship when I spied a girl at RHS - Robin Sleeman - gosh I thought she was so cute. She played field hockey and me and a friend would sit on the steps to the old gym and I would watch Robin practice. I remember saying to him "Gosh she's cute!" "I have to ask that girl out! Should I?" "Think she'll say yes?" It was just like Fred Strype in 7th grade when he asked me if I thought Nanci Hesse liked him - now it was me asking someone if they thought Robin would like ME! How I progressed! Finally, I did ask her out and I was so excited when she said yes! I was such a jerk to her - that is I wasn't mean to her but you can't - you should never go out with a girl when you're in a realtionship with another - either wait til its over or be honest - of course when you're 16, 17 years old mature thought isn't part of your life. Still - as shortlived as it was - I have the fondest memories of Robin - holding hands with her, walking her home - she probably has the opposite memory of me and I would deserve that to be sure. But holding hands with someone you care about - there's nothing like it. Anyway, all these rituals gave me the coinfidence in high school to become a better student and helped to make me a lot more outgoing. I have often thought about Robin and I wish she knew how she had made me feel - I didn't handle that (as far as she was concerned) - very well......
Above, click the arrow above to hear the Elton John song "Friends".
The struggle to come of age has been around since forever - it's the one thing that never really changes. We all have to go through it - for some it can be extremely difficult - for others - like me - we laugh along the way - but we never forget these times that help to make us who we are!
The BF/GW junior high reunion - reserve your rooms now by calling the Woodcliff Lake Hilton 201-391-3600 if you'd like to stay over night. Don't miss out on something that will make you smile!
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