1969 and Winning

No more UFOs were seen, fortunately or unfortunately.  They were a diversion, and God knew, I surely needed one that senior year.

Not-a-real-diploma

The year 1969 brought graduation from high school.  Thank you, God. 

The senior year had been one of hard work, very hard work.  My whole college life depended on the sacred "win" of a scholarship.  Long story there, but anxiety level was such that I developed an ulcer and lost twenty pounds.

My GPA before senior year had been a miserable 3.5; it could not, would not “win” me much.  The word “win” was confusing then and is now.  One could not “win” anything as precious as a scholarship.  One could claw up the mountain of hope and perhaps make it to the top, holding that gold medal scholarship high.

End of school and graduation--- a memory I will never forget.  I was one of four valedictorians.  Our high school had a policy that if the GPAs were so close by the middle of May, there would be three or four valedictorians.  This “win” required me to speak at graduation. 

A scholarship was soundly mine.  A selected college accepted my application. I had a speech written and then re-written in my head.  The other two and I practiced our speeches in an empty gym, where our words sounded hollow. The fourth declined speaking at the commencement, so shy.

I “won” the position of the final speaker, the one who would introduce the specially invited speaker.  Even though I knew each word, each nuance, something changed as I looked out at the other graduates, knowing each one, suspecting their dreams and hopes. 

Some boys, too many boys would be heading to Vietnam.  A few pregnant girls would be getting married in a few days, since the district’s policy forbid married students from attending school.  College, farming, marriage, vocational schools, and just moving somewhere were the rest of the tasseled hats.

What did I say?  Tell you in two days.

This post is dedicated to Joanne Noragon who asked an important question after my three UFO posts: I'll enjoy seeing how college changed your outlook and furthered your education. What was the big letdown?

Wednesday Words: Mrs. Esther

Source

Mrs. Esther assessed each student as they entered her classroom.  Being a rare insightful teacher, she knew the struggles every student possessed as a strong believer in understanding what each experienced at school and at home.

When she announced that it was time for Friday’s Spelling test, some retrieved papers from desks eagerly and some with resignation.

“Disperse…firefly...graduated…” were the words easy to remember and sound out.  Then “…either…beautiful…and finally testosterone…” Now that’s an odd one” she thought.

Papers were collected and the final bell rang.  Those students, ones that worried Mrs. Esther the most, were last to leave, with sluggish reluctant steps. Looking at their papers, she ascertained what handwriting said:

Anger, fear, depression, despair, anxiety...and much more

Those names always frightened her, for causes were from the home and almost beyond her reach.  Almost.


 Delores is a wonderful and creative writer.  She observes life with clarity.  With that in mind, Delores tosses six words for Wednesday Words writing, to challenge anyone who wants to stretch writing, create, and confound.  Please check the train tracks in the upper right sidebar.  And, please join the crew who wrestle with this words, sentence prompts, and sometimes photos to entertain and sometimes confound.

When collections become something else

Mental health source

I usually write posts with a sense of humor, a wry twist at the end that relieves the stress the writing may have induced.  But with this topic, there simply is no humor to be found. 

One of the many-way-too-many reality TV shows is about people who are hoarders.  It is not meant to be entertaining.

By definition, a hoarder is one who “…collects and stores, often secretly, large amounts of things such as food or money for future use,” as per Encarta.  An extreme hoarder is one who does this openly. 

According to http://www.adaa.org/living-with-anxiety/ask-and-learn/ask-expert/what-hoarding-and-how-do-i-know-if-i%E2%80%99m-hoarder-what-dif

Site, a person who hoards suffers from anxiety, some form of mental health issues, obsessive/compulsive disorder, and/or depression. 

Holding onto “things” is an extreme desire to have control of their lives.  It allows one to maintain connections to the past, be prepared for the future.

Recently Klahanie has written about and directed readers to visit this site http://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/annual/world_mental_health_day/en/index.html.

I would like to add my voice in support.   

Chances are all of us know someone who is a hoarder, who is struggling with mental illness. Please check out this site as well:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01hllr3  and http://www.rd.com/health/wellness/the-hoarding-syndrome-when-clutter-goes-out-of-control/

Over my lifetime, there have been at least five people whom I now recognize as hoarders.  Then, it was thought that they were simply lazy or indifferent.   

I wish…I wish I had known and had helped them receive help for mental health.