School
In 6th grade a sort of eruption took place, a rearranging of priorities. This was the beginning of boy-girl parties, school dances, girls whispering and giggling about the boys.
I have written, at this point, volumes on this subject, about how much I hated the coming of age requirements, the emphasis on clothes, and not being “serious.” Serious?! Books, my piano, classical music. and politics made up a big part of my life. I loved art, I was creative in a number of fields, and I loved so much being a child on our street. I just didn’t want to go along with this program but I didn’t have the strength to stand up for myself. I remember one time, I was at a party at a boy’s house and had a minor anxiety attack; I had to call my parents to come and get me. I think I would have been relieved to completely give up these efforts at sociability and plunge back into my books and my piano.
And of course, through the grades at Taylor Allderdice, the social pressure increased. We did have marvelous teachers–teachers I’ll never forget. They molded my life. Our English and art teachers were superlative and supportive of individual efforts.
We were told, in Allderdice, that we had to get our minds ready for when we went to college. This was stressed; of course, I was scared by this. But by this time–my junior year–I was so deeply in love with my first real boyfriend that school was ephemeral. It was a place where I could see my boyfriend, that was all.
I need to add something here about individual sex drives. My grandmother and mother each had a strong libido and I inherited this. At times it has been glorious, at other times, a curse. If I’m writing about high school I’m committed to remark that a strong libido combined with studying in school doesn’t always produce good results.
College was a disappointment mostly. I know that I worked harder in high school than I ever did at the University of Pittsburgh. The teachers at Allderdice had high standards. However, in my junior year at Pitt I took a two-semester course in Russian History along with courses on Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. This was what I wanted to get out of college; I was caught up in Russian history and culture; it was the only time I made Dean’s List. Also–with regards to the mix of sex and studying–by this time, 1970, the sexual revolution had begun, I got birth control pills, and my boyfriend and I were living together. This settled my anxieties and sex drive.
lgmwriting 