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Being 14 This morning I read an article about a teacher who gave his students an assignment to write a 10 page letter from their 14 year old self to their future self. He saved the letters and was in the process of tracking down as many people as possible and giving them their letters. Can you remember being 14? I had to really search the memory banks and couldn’t come up with too many specifics. I would have been a sophomore in high school. I switched schools that year from a very modern building out by itself to an extremely old New England building in the center of town. I remember the polished wood trim everywhere and marble staircases on each side of a lobby. A huge ornate auditorium complete with a balcony accessing the second floor made it look like more like an old fashioned movie theater than a school. There was the annual school play. This year we did South Pacific. I was in the chorus. We had to sing “some Enchanted Evening” for try outs. The classrooms for things like art and vocational classes and the gym were in a creepy old basement. I remember the shoes I wore on the first day of school that year. I was challenged with Latin, trigonometry and chemistry and needed to retake Latin I summer school. There was the typical 14 year old crush on the handsome young teacher. I remember getting a new kitten from the neighbors. This was the year that I was allowed to drive (even if it was technically illegal) on the country roads. I remember playing badminton in the back yard of my mother’s house. I remember a blue and white 59 Ford with tail lights that looked like basketballs. The new “trend” was wool Bermuda shorts and knee sox in the winter. I finally had PE outfit that was shorts rather than the bloomers worn in my old school. I was introduced to a new sport called Field Hockey that only girls played. After school the “cool ” walked the couple blocks to the 2 – 3 block main street area and hung out at the lunch counter in the local Rexall drug store or the Woolworth lunch counter. The guys hung out in front of the department store while the girls walked up and down the street trying to get noticed. Anyone old enough and lucky enough to have a car cruised up and down the 3 block main street. There are lots more memories but I am not sure if they were from 12, 15 or 16 or somewhere else in my teens. Do you have any specific memories of your 14 year old self? Spiritwoman ^i^ |
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1/27/2015 11:47 pm |
I am not sire what protocol for comments is but I do my own thing regardless and don't have any problems with sharing. In fact this blog was an invitation to add personal stories. Yours is interesting. Lets see what others might come up with. Spiritwoman ^i^
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1/28/2015 6:40 am |
Hi Spirit: I remember that age so well, but wish I could forget all about it. My father had just lost all his money in a business so we moved from a beautiful home to a small town where my parents bought a restaurant and we lived in an apartment upstairs. I was in high school and so shy but I had to work as a waitress in the restaurant every night after school so my mother could go home, then I had to work again all day on Saturday so she could have one day off. The long hours and stress really took a toll on all of us because that was when my father started to be violent and abusive.
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The main thing I recall at that age is that I won a scholarship to Mansfield Technical School. I was over the moon and so excited about going to that school. Unfortunately, circumstances dictated that about 18 months later, I had to leave and get a job. Alfie...
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I was a Freshman in high school in San Lorenzo, California. I was only there one year as our part of town was incorporated into San Leandro so transferred to that high school. I met my friend Lorrie at San Lorenzo, we had a class together. She later was my Matron of Honor when I married my girl's dad. My youngest daughter Lori was named after her. I wonder what ever happened to Lorrie. My girl's dad was in the Navy and we were transferred to San Diego. Eventually we just lost track of each other.
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Lordy, how could I forget, we were just talking about it this morning at breakfast. I was 14 and in Senior Girl Scouts, for high school girls. We took a trip to Vancouver, BC and worked to earn the money to go. One day I will write a blog about it. I remember it like it was very recent.
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1/28/2015 9:39 am |
Like I said I had to really think about selecting one particular year from my teens. I think 14 is a focal point for me becasue I changed schools - a big thing for a 14 year old. Spiritwoman ^i^
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1/28/2015 9:41 am |
The dances and opportunities they brought sound amazing. Living in DC during those years sounds like the beginning of your political interests. It must have been amazing to see all of that first hand. Spiritwoman ^i^
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1/28/2015 9:42 am |
Hi Spirit: I remember that age so well, but wish I could forget all about it. My father had just lost all his money in a business so we moved from a beautiful home to a small town where my parents bought a restaurant and we lived in an apartment upstairs. I was in high school and so shy but I had to work as a waitress in the restaurant every night after school so my mother could go home, then I had to work again all day on Saturday so she could have one day off. The long hours and stress really took a toll on all of us because that was when my father started to be violent and abusive. Spiritwoman ^i^
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1/28/2015 9:44 am |
The main thing I recall at that age is that I won a scholarship to Mansfield Technical School. I was over the moon and so excited about going to that school. Unfortunately, circumstances dictated that about 18 months later, I had to leave and get a job. Alfie... Spiritwoman ^i^
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1/28/2015 9:46 am |
I was a Freshman in high school in San Lorenzo, California. I was only there one year as our part of town was incorporated into San Leandro so transferred to that high school. I met my friend Lorrie at San Lorenzo, we had a class together. She later was my Matron of Honor when I married my girl's dad. My youngest daughter Lori was named after her. I wonder what ever happened to Lorrie. My girl's dad was in the Navy and we were transferred to San Diego. Eventually we just lost track of each other. Spiritwoman ^i^
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1/28/2015 9:49 am |
The first heartbreak - little did we know then what was in store for us. Burbon St - what an amazing introduction to life beyond our regular environment. Spiritwoman ^i^
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1/28/2015 9:51 am |
Yes, I remember fourteen well because it was one of those "changing days" as Dr. Phil would say. I like to remember it. I only share it occasionally and only small parts of it because other than my family-- most people think I'm making it up.  Spiritwoman ^i^
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1/28/2015 8:32 pm |
14 years old, gosh that takes me back 60 years. I remember I was in my third year at Grammar school. That year we had a student exchange with a school in London. I didn't have anybody to stay with me but my best friend Peter did. His name was David Bennett and yes you guessed it, we fell madly in love. It was a great time, all sorts of events were organized by the school for our class and the exchange students. But then after 2 weeks he had to go back to England. We corresponded for quite some time and packages would arrive with a pearl necklace and goodies from england. However it didn't last, life was taken up with other things. Spiritwoman ^i^
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