Shortly before middle school my family relocated from Hamilton, Ohio to Middletown, Ohio. I was excited because we had bought a home with a big yard and great neighborhood. I was thrilled that our neighbors also had three girls in their family and we all got along well. That first summer was a blast! We played games, put on plays, and rode our bikes all over. But it wasn't till I started middle school that I finally met some kids my own age.
Unfortunately they had all been in grade school together and so they weren't very friendly to the strange girl who didn't wear the popular clothes. I was pretty shy back then and took their comments and "jokes" personally. I had hoped that the neighborhood kids would be welcoming, but they were not. I finally started making friends with another "geeky" girl on the school bus and things got better. We stayed friends all through middle and high school.
Anyway, my high school was pretty big with about 1200 kids total. My graduating class was about 330 and I really think I maybe knew half of those kids. For the most part I didn't really like high school. I didn't have a lot of friends and I was terribly self-conscious all the time. I was a good kid and smart and didn't get in trouble. I felt like I didn't have a lot in common with most of the other kids. I spent most of my time in the theater and became entrenched in helping with all the school plays. It was a blast and it helped me come a bit out of my shell.
The school was a two story brick building with an annex for a vocational school. My junior and senior year I took Computer Drafting classes over at the vocational school (despite my guidance counselor telling me that an Honor student shouldn't do that). Those classes helped me get my summer jobs for years after that with various cities and with the DOT. I think that counselor had no clue what engineers would be expected to do someday. Thank God I ignored her!
The high school is still being used today and both of my younger sisters went there. I haven't been back to the school in at least ten or more years, but every once in a while I drive by there when I go to see my mom.
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