So I was thinking about how I like to always be doing something, having my hands in everything that I can, and I wondered, "How in the world did I get this way???" And then it dawned on me:
The second semester of my Freshman year of high school, there was this girl who was willing to tie my bra in a knot for me although she did not even know my name. (ok - so that will be another post.) We became fast friends and eventually most people in our class decided that we were held together by some invisible force field. We did everything together. Sometime early in this friendship, Valerie let me in on her grand scheme. She was on a mission to get the biggest paragraph, and she insisted that I join in.
Paragraph, you ask? Yes, paragraph. By somewhere in our sophomore year, Valerie had decided that in our Senior yearbook she wanted to have the biggest list of activities below her name. She dubbed this her paragraph, and from that point on we had to be involved in things so that we could list them in our paragraph.
Now, in the classic nature vs. nurture kind of debate, no one will ever know if I was destined to be a paragraph builder all my life and I just happened to discover my true self in high school, or if it was all Valerie's influence that created the monster! Most likely it was both. But there you have it. In my quest to understand who I am, it all goes back to The Paragraph.
And to answer the question that I am sure is to come, I can't remember which of us had the bigger paragraph in the end. The evidence lies in a box somewhere at my dad's house, so next time I come across it I will check. Really, though, it doesn't matter. It was the process of the journey, not the product, that really mattered!
Valerie, you have been outed.
The second semester of my Freshman year of high school, there was this girl who was willing to tie my bra in a knot for me although she did not even know my name. (ok - so that will be another post.) We became fast friends and eventually most people in our class decided that we were held together by some invisible force field. We did everything together. Sometime early in this friendship, Valerie let me in on her grand scheme. She was on a mission to get the biggest paragraph, and she insisted that I join in.
Paragraph, you ask? Yes, paragraph. By somewhere in our sophomore year, Valerie had decided that in our Senior yearbook she wanted to have the biggest list of activities below her name. She dubbed this her paragraph, and from that point on we had to be involved in things so that we could list them in our paragraph.
Now, in the classic nature vs. nurture kind of debate, no one will ever know if I was destined to be a paragraph builder all my life and I just happened to discover my true self in high school, or if it was all Valerie's influence that created the monster! Most likely it was both. But there you have it. In my quest to understand who I am, it all goes back to The Paragraph.
And to answer the question that I am sure is to come, I can't remember which of us had the bigger paragraph in the end. The evidence lies in a box somewhere at my dad's house, so next time I come across it I will check. Really, though, it doesn't matter. It was the process of the journey, not the product, that really mattered!
Valerie, you have been outed.
Me, my sister Pam and Valerie in Valerie's dorm room
freshman year of college (1995), Jefferson City, TN.
2 comments:
Okay any gal that will tie your bra straps together is a friend for life. My paragraph was pitifully small. It said - Band; Field Commander. So sad....
Ok! You are in trouble! Imagine my surprise to see a post about that experience! Wow! What a trip down memory lane. I love you girl! I am so glad you asked me to tie your bra in a knot! And as far as the paragraph, I think they were about equal in HS, but yours is MUCH bigger now!
Post a Comment