I left my hometown as soon as humanly possible, vowing never to return. I tried to get out sooner, but failed. I considered many times running away, but when I was younger I was always afraid so that was out of the question. I was afraid of everything: darkness, yelling, disappointing people, my own imperfections, failure, life, people, heights (this one still freaks me out), & most of all myself. I found an all girls' school in Virginia that I wanted to attend. No money to send me away to school. I wanted to go on the wheat harvest one summer. That was met with a big no-my Mom was absolutely appalled I would even think of this. I learned not to have dreams & if I did certainly not to voice them or any opinion of mine to my parents.
I was a good student but I absolutely hated High School. I always felt like a square peg in a round hole. I just didn't seem to fit in. Depression became by constant companion by Senior Year & lived with me for many years, gone now thankfully. I was super-sensitive to raised voice, teasing, & criticism. There was so much of that from my Dad at home that I just would dissolve in tears whenever it happened. This was true for many years of my life. I would just cry at the drop of a hat.
I was not allowed to go where the other kids went, do what the other kids did, dress like the other girls. I saved my money once & had spied the cutest dress at one of the local dress shops. It was flowered (a sprinkling of multi-colored wild flowers) on a butter yellow background. It was a mini dress that stuck me mid-thigh. It had long sleeves that flared out at the elbows in a bell shape (yes, 40 yrs later I can still see that dress). I bought it & then stopped by my Mom's office to show her what I had bought all on my own. She had me try it on & promptly told me I could not keep it. It was too short (she actually checked to see if there was enough hem to let it down below my knees-there wasn not) & I was not going to wear it. Take it back. I was mortified, but back to the shop it went. I was so angry, so embarrassed, so disappointed. Then, I was not allowed to get my ears pierced. According to my Mom only "trashy women" had pierced ears. Once I got to college I pierced my ears. Later I pierced them several more times & got tattos. Funny thing, many years later my Dad wanted to get my Mom diamond earrings & she had her ears pierced so that she would not lose them. BTW, I now have those earrings-they were the last Christmas present my Dad ever bought my Mom because he died 4 months later.
I, as previously noted, never planned to return to my hometown, never planned to be in touch with anyone I knew from childhood/teenage years. Then I moved back to OK after more than 20 yrs. I have never been to a class reunion. Still have no plans to ever attend one. But I have seen several people with whom I went to school. Worked with a couple of them a few years back. Run into others here& there. Our lives have taken such different roads there was no real connection, just people we used to know when we were all someone else. I am in my hometown at least once a week now because my partner/companion is a hometown boy & his Mom still lives there. I have been able to remember the good times, banish most of the bad memories & replace them with the good ones. I had blocked out so much that I really don't remember lots of things from my growing up years. But, thanks to Sparky & his Mom, I am remembering people, places, events, etc. My brother helped me with this also before he died. Filled in alot of my blanks, because I have large gaps in my memories of childhood. I still don't really have my own memories but I can go "Oh yea, I remember....." when something is related to me.
Visiting with Tim, Barry, & Rhonda last weekend in my hometown really opened up something in me. I actually got on my Facebook account & looked for people from my graduating class. Found some, sent a friend request, two confirmed me as a friend, even got an actual response from one. It was nice. It has opened up my past in a good way. A couple have never responded but that is ok too. The old me would have taken that as a sign that I am not worthy, not valuable. But the authentic, true me understands that we weren't friends before, just people who went to school together & they may not even remember me. There were after all 30 in our graduating class, I think. LOL! I think I am finally free of the demons from High School. Free to not be negatively affected by the memories. Free to see them for what they were - just kid stuff. What really matters is who I am today, how I live my life in this moment, the impact I have on other people, being true to myself, living in authenticity, living in harmony, being joyful, following my Journey, traveling toward enlightenment, being in sync with Great Spirit, Nature, my surroundings, & harming none as I walk through this Adventure.
As I told Barry, when we were discussing what we write in our blogs, I had to live lies for too many years, keep secrets, be someone else-a shadow of myself, & now I am going to be completely honest about who I am, tell the truth, & tell my stories. That is the best I can be....Authentic!
blessed be...
