Throwback Thursday: My High School Self

Friends, we are throwing this Thursday waaaay back, to my high school years! (I'm warning you know, this is a long one!) I'll admit up front that I was a total nerd. I didn't go to parties where my mom didn't know the parents (and sometimes spoke to them beforehand), I never tried drugs or even a cigarette, and other than a sip of wine on special occasions, the first drink I had was a Zima after prom (which I hated and didn't even finish). School was always the number one priority in my house, and going to college wasn't an option- I was going come hell or high water. The good part was that I actually liked school and wanted to excel. I was a good kid who did homework right after school and was pretty shy and quiet, except around my close friends.

I went to high school from 1998-2002. I was in high school during both Y2K and 9/11. (I was actually sitting in my psychology class when 9/11 happened. We were released early and my mom picked me up and we went straight home. But this post isn't about that.) 

So we shall start at freshman year. From Kindergarten to my sophomore year at college, I had a dog. He was a mutt that we picked up at the North Shore Animal League, and his name was Spot Clifford (because I was 5 when I named him and already a bookworm). 

That's us in my backyard. It really doesn't have much to do with this post other than the fact that I really like the picture. Moving right along...

This is from Sweet 16. My Sweet 16 was a big deal. I think it was the first time I had my brows done. We rented out a hall, I made the guy I had a crush on walk me in (hehe), and there was a swan ice sculpture. There are more pics, but I can't find them right now. It was also the first time I spoke to or saw my Grandma in 11 years (she and my mom had s falling out when I was 5). She was a major pita and made me late for my own damn party because she was fixing her hair. But I'm still really glad she came. 

I had pretty much the same group of friends from freshman year to, well, now. I still talk to these two, though we're not as close as we used to be. I remember we had a notebook with notes to each other that we'd trade between classes (really wish I knew where it is now and what it said!). We came from each of the three towns and I believe we met in choir. 

We (the first pic) also had nicknames for each other. I was Qt, to my left is Princess, and laying down is Angel. Below is how we'd dig our names. Obviously Princess had a crown for the dot over the i. We swore to get tattoos with a heart with wings and a crown when we were of age, but alas, that never happened. Ahh, to be young and so, so silly again!

I always participated in a lot of after school of activities. I think my mom supported this to 1) keep me out of trouble and 2) to make sure I was "well-rounded" for when college apps came around. It helped that I always wanted to do everything, even when I was younger. I already mentioned that I was in choir, but I was also a band geek, tennis player, and part of at least 3 clubs (KEY club and drama club come to mind first).

I know I attended the Freshman Formal and the Sophmore Social, but I don't really remember those. The first time I had a date to a dance was the Junior Cotillion. His name is Haris, and I don't really remember who did the asking, but I think it may have been me. I was never really shy when it came to guys. Anyway, we never dated, but he was a perfect gentleman. Facebook tells me he's married with two kids now.

P.S. That dress was my mom's and I still have it, and it still fits, if a bit short and tight.

I've heard that my generation is called the Oregon Trail generation. I got (and was expected to use) my first computer my junior year of high school. I still used encyclopedias and the library for research (there was no Wikipedia), but everything was expected to be typed and cited, whether you used the Internet or not. It was a confusing time, academically, for that reason. I also played a lot of The Sims on that computer. The dial-up was a real issue, which is why I had my own phone line- school always came first! 

I lived in a 3 bedroom ranch house. I was allowed to paint this room sea foam green, put in an air mattress in the other corner, and blast Eiffel 65's "Blue" and jump around, or Meredith Brooks' "Bitch" on repeat on particularly angsty days. 

I was always a little older than my peers since my birthday is in mid-December. And I'm pretty sure my mom loves my birthday as much as I do (I'm an only child). This pic was taking directly after waking up, hence my half asleep face. 

Those are pieces of paper on my balloons. They were part of my birthday present hunt. For my bday and Easter, my mom would make me do things like recite poetry while doing 10 jumping jacks for my next clue. I used to get SO annoyed, but now I kinda miss that. Also, please note the YM magazine (anyone else read that?) and Nick Lachey pic. Le sigh. 

When I walked outside on my 18th birthday I found... A car. I was in shock. Of course I wanted one, but we didn't have money like that. I still have no idea how my mom made that happen, but she did. It was an old Mazda Protege and I adored it. 

As soon as I got a car, I also got my first cell phone (in case of emergencies). I skipped the beeper phase, so this was all kinds of exciting. Of course it was a Nokia flip phone. And I wore it with the belt clip because I didn't know any better and my mom was adamant about having it on me all the time. I actually still have it too. Ahh, the memories. 

For some reason, I was obsessed with Nelly Furtado by the time she came out with her second single, "Sh!t on the Radio." (I kind of hated "I'm Like a Bird.") I just loved her voice, her Portuguese background, and what she was about- she seemed different. (I may have also been told that I sounded like her.) Soon, my friends would even give me pics when they spotted her in a magazine, and so began what I fondly refer to as "The Nelly Wall." By the time I graduated, the wall extended all the way to the floor and halfway up the other wall. 

I was so about her that when I finally came out of my shell in my senior year, I tried out for the annual Talent Show using her song. My band teacher was the one deciding, but he was facing the other way for each audition (like in The Voice). He couldn't believe that it was actually me, because is been so shy up to this point, at least when it came to performing anything other than the sax solo. So I became her for the Talent Show. 

That's my high school boyfriend, Frank. He played bass in a cover of No Doubt's "Don't Speak" with his band in the show. He broke up with me via phone on the 4th of July that summer because I was in a pre-college camp and he couldn't deal with the distance. We're still friends- I attended his wedding a few years ago and am very happy for him. Also, glitter jeans were very popular back then, so don't judge!

If you've made it this far, kudos and thank you!! I know this was a long one. Anyway, this is me and one of my best friends, Angel, at our senior prom. I mentioned before that I was a nerd. And I showed up wearing the same dress as one of the most popular girls at school. Ugh. Oh well. The first pic was senior year of high school, and the second was freshman year of college, just to see IF we could still fit in them. That one year certainly made a difference; we both look so different!

What were you like in high school? Show and Tell with Andrea!