The Rest of High School

In the middle of my sophomore year we moved to Rantoul, Illinois, a small farm town just north of Champagne-Urbana with a large Air Force base. Herb and I joined the Methodist Youth Group and immediately met a fun bunch of wonderful local kids, breaking me out of the geek pattern. That spring, for the very first time, I had a boyfriend named Bill, a good looking academic student, all round outstanding athlete with an incredibly funny sense of humor. He was also the high school principal's son, and had a sister in Herb's class. Life suddenly bacame much brighter! There were group dates and outings, the Junior-Senior Prom, and my first formal. What fun! However, shortly after I began wearing Bill's state gold First Place Track Medals on a chain around my neck, my father began to dislike him immensely, and by the end of summer I was forbidden to date him any longer. We tried to sneak some dates, with friends picking me up, but I just couldn't stand being sneaky and afraid of being caught, even though Herb helped cover for me. So, my dating life came to a screeching halt, as I was totally disinterested in the base guys. Somehow I was selected as a Valentine Princess at the Winter Ball, but right after that, we left in March and moved to Albuquerque, right at the end of my junior year. Losing a couple of weeks of school was hazardous to my chemistry and Algebra II grades, and for the first time ever, I ended up with C's, although French, English, and history stayed on top.

You cannot imagine the pain upon beginning a new school at that point in high school, in a new place that seemed to be all dirt and dust, with little green anywhere, although the mountains were beautiful. Fortunately, we moved to an area with the brand new Sandia High School which had just opened earlier that same year, combining students from three other areas, so Herb and I were not the only newcomers. It was quite different to be in a such a large school of about 1800 students, but we both joined a bunch of activities: French Club, student government, choirs, student service clubs, and Tri-Hi-Y, kind of mini-sororities (me), and the First Presbyterian Youth Group. We made many friends quickly and began to feel more at home, and we found summer jobs. By the time school opened my senior year, I had begun to feel at home there and was caught up in the excitement as Student Council prepared for the school's first homecoming celebration. You cannot imagine my surprise to be chosen as Sandia's very first Homecoming Queen, for I cannot begin to tell you what a big honor it was. Even 35 years later, people would come up to me saying they remembered it. My parents bought me a fairy princess dress that would have been one of my favorite designs, had I thought of it! I still treasure the memories of Sandia, that magical year, and of some of the dear friends I still have today from then, especially dear Pat Renken. For all of the lonely times before then, that wonderful year made up for it and began to prepare me for the experience of college to follow.