Well, to be honest, I didn’t like school much. I was terrible at math. My geography teacher only showed sports bloopers – so I don’t know where the countries are located. I did like home-economics. I enjoyed the cooking and sewing. Well, the sewing part was alright, but I didn’t like doing all the steps – it seemed silly. However, my final project – showed all the things I decided to skip. So, learning educational stuff in school wasn’t what I learned in school. My learning was more practical to surviving in the world and realizing what was really important.
I wasn’t the popular girl. I didn’t make prom queen. I didn’t have a following of adoring fans wishing to get just a word from me. No, I was the one in the back of the class. I had a few friends – mostly boys. I just got along better with boys than I ever did with girls. I learned early on that I didn’t want to be the popular one. It was so fake to me. I didn’t want all that attention. I just wanted to be me. I didn’t want to pretend to be something or someone just so people would like me. Either you liked me or you didn’t – I could care less.
This realization gave me a sense of independence. I didn’t need people’s approval. I could walk to the beat of my own drum and be happy about it. I remember watching the “in crowd” walk around thinking they were all important – when all I saw was girls who were just like me. The only difference was they needed that fan base to be happy.
So, to recap – in high school I learned to be me with no pretense or or fan fare. That strength has helped me in many different situations in life. Knowing who I am and what I can accomplish brings great satisfaction. I like just being me!
LaDonna Fridenmaker~Writer 