A lot of high schools had their graduation ceremonies last week, so for Throwback Thursday, I’ll go way back to my graduation in 1985.
I had a red rose and a wrist corsage?
This was the public school whose newspaper adviser censored my music review because it mentioned homosexuality. Before that, some bitch teacher tried to keep me out of the National Honor Society — even though my grades easily qualified — because she didn’t like my opinions. I mean, I guess that’s what her problem with me was. What she cited was my alleged lack of morals. I didn’t and still don’t know how I could have lost my morals in high school, because I didn’t have any fun at all. I graduated without having had sex, so she couldn’t slut-shame me for that. I didn’t smoke, do drugs, cheat on tests, cut classes or incite violence against teachers. I had been drunk exactly once, and I think that might have been an accident, because I didn’t understand what hard cider was. Maybe it was my tolerance of gay people or belief in the right to an abortion that got me in trouble. Who knows?
“Get me out of here.”
The teacher was eventually overruled and I was allowed into the National Honor Society, which changed my life … not at all. I also graduated second in my (small) class. The girl who was first in the class studied a lot more than I did. I coasted whenever I could. Despite that, if I recall correctly, I gave the final speech at the graduation ceremony, including the line that cued everyone to throw their caps in the air. That’s very odd, because the second in the class is called the salutatorian and traditionally speaks first, delivering the salutation, hence the word “salutatorian.” The valedictorian should speak last, delivering the final, or valedictory, speech.
Giving my little speech.
Before digital cameras and cell phones, you took 12 pictures or so and kept whatever came back from the film-developing place, which explains this photo. Nowadays, you’d look at something like this and say, “Take it again!!”
Looking bucktoothed.
The little bit of my dress peeking out at the top of my robe in the photo below confirms I did wear my favorite Fiorucci dress to graduation.
With BarbaraB and GeorgeB.
I’m the same age now as my father was in that photo. (My mother was younger.) Of course, I thought they were both terribly old and didn’t understand anything. Ugh, this makes me want a drink. Pass the hard cider!
Adorable. Love the family photo, your parents are so gorgeous. And yeah, remember film cameras? So inconvenient!
On the other hand, with film, so much less pressure to get a great shot!
Gee Wendy, you were such a bad girl in high school! You probably poisoned everyone with your “immoral thoughts.” So, it’s obvious to you now that the “bitch teacher” was really “jealous teacher,” right? I mean, what the hell was she doing with her boring, suburban, mediocre life? You were gorgeous (and still are) AND you were going places (and you HAVE!).
Ha!
I don’t see buckteeth. It looks like you are in the midst of telling someone to fuck off. LOL.
Beautiful as always.
Ha ha! I like that interpretation.
Sounds like you and I had a very similar high school experience, dear Wendy…no drinking, smoking, drugs or “fun” for me either!! I wasn’t so unlucky to have a teacher dislike me, though…but I had very few friends, and basically spent all my time studying so I could keep up my 90% grade average. Of course, in “real life” nobody gives a s**t what your school average once was…now I wish I had studied less and enjoyed the “best years of my life” (lol!!) just a bit more!!
I figure I get to have fun now to make up for missing it then — and the fun is a lot better now!
I -did- get blocked from the NHS! By teachers who thought I had an “attitude problem,” which had to have been because…I never smoked or drank or even went to parties.
Actually it was because I was a smart kid who got good grades without trying hard and hated school. Maybe that’s in the bylaws? Seems to be a common experience!
Anyway, it totally ruined…nothing, I have a pretty fabulous life.
http://thesearethings.com/work/hatersgonnahate/img/hatersgonnahate-01.gif
OMG. We are soulmates!!!!
Did you attend any high school reunions since then? If so, was Mrs. Bitchlord in attendance?
And I will definitely pass you the hard cider the next time we meet; it’s my jam!
I’ve avoided reunions (high school and college) like the plague!
I think I’ve met maybe one person who enjoyed high school. I hated it! You look adorable in all of the photos and obviously the bitch teacher didn’t know you AT ALL.
I think I’d be a little leery of someone who loved high school! LOL.