I graduated from high school a semester ahead of most of my friends. I couldn't wait to get out of there. Nothing really exciting happened in high school. I wasn't a geek. Those girls who went to high school with me can correct me if I'm wrong, but if you were a friend of mine back then you better not say I was a geek because that puts you in that group right with me sweetie! I wasn't at all athletic (although I did tryout for soccer. During tryouts we had to jog around the track 13 times. If it wasn't 13 it sure as heck felt like 13 because I was needing CPR afterwards and that's what ended my dream of being a soccer star). I was one of the kids who very few will remember. I didn't cause attention to be drawn to myself, not on purpose anyways. One time I remember slipping on the ice going back to the main building from the portables (not port-a-potties. I think they call them trailers here in the USA but where I come from they are called portables). I had on my lovely blue and gold quilt (not by choice, people! It was a uniform. That's what they do to Catholic children, they give you rules and nasty fashion) with some sort of dress shoe that didn't have a grip (I would have worn running shoes but I looked so great in that blue and gold quilt, I didn't want to ruin the look with Nikes). Of course, I slipped on the ice in front of one of the good looking guys in school and of course the jerk didn't help me up. Now, if I had slipped in front of a geek then you know he would have. If I could do over my high school years I would have been less afraid of what people think and gotten involved. Today, when I enter a building you know it because you can hear me a mile away. No need to comment on that, friends. I'm making up for all the times I should have stood out in high school.
In January 1991 I finished my high school classes and in May I moved 3 hours away from home to attend the University of Guelph (Ontario). I didn't choose it for it's top notch education or awards they won in sports. I don't think they had sports. I never saw anyone playing sports on campus but I'm sure they must have. I do remember that there was an indoor hockey rink on campus somewhere. When I tell you about my years in University you'll understand why I didn't know about what was going on around me on campus. (no drugs were involved) Many of the students at U of G were AGGI's ... agriculture students/future farmers...and veterinarian students. The University was known for those two programs. I didn't attend hoping to be a farmer or to marry a farmer. I would have loved to be a veterinarian but science wasn't my forte so that program wasn't even a consideration. Why did I pick the University of Guelph then? The campus and the buildings are beautiful. There are old-fashioned brick buildings, trees lined red brick pathways and an arboretum. The picture on the right is one of the dormitories, Johnson Hall. (taken from wikepedia.org). I didn't stay there, instead I stayed in a drab high rise apartment dormitory. It wasn't anything to look at but it had a beautiful view and I didn't have to eat the cafeteria food.
I've heard the Universities in the US have some good eatin' but at the University of Guelph there wasn't Subway or Chic-fil-A. I really have no idea what they served because the only place I ate at on campus was at The Keg, a bar that had a little kitchen in the back where you could get counter service. I worked in the kitchen for a year, cooking and yelling orders out when the bar was packed with drunk students. (good thing I have a voice that carries. See, it's good for something). We had some good food ... eggs for breakfast, fresh deep fried nachos with cheese, fries we made ourselves by throwing huge bags of potatoes into a french fry cutting machine then deep frying them and serving them with chili and cheese, tuna melts, quiche. It was actually really good food.
University would have been a great time for me if I had not hooked up with a guy my second year there. I wish I could do it all over again, however I'm sure that going through that relationship helped me once I met Mark. I knew exactly what I didn't want in a relationship.
I'll talk about that in my next post. Relationships that shouldn't last as long as they do, but the lessons we can learn from them (lessons I learned anyways).
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