One of my fave bloggers, Kerri Sackville has started a blogging challenge. Each Monday those participating will be required (though not through strongarming or similar) to write about a #First.
Today Kerri’s chosen our ‘First Act of Rebellion’.
I was mostly a good kid. I didn’t drink or smoke and graduated school having only experienced the occasional snog. Indeed, until in the throes of anorexia I kept few secrets from my family and friends and was fairly happy and carefree.
Most of my early girlhood crushes were on ridiculously unattainable basketballing teammates of my older brother from various parts of the State. (Yes… the less likely the better apparently!) Local boys just didn’t cut it.
However… when I was 14 I developed a crush on a guy a year above me at school. He was a bit of a footballing hero in our small hometown and several of my friends fancied him.
Mostly we liked him from afar as you did at that age. However, some of my friends were more forward and confident than I.
One Saturday night we gals were at the cinema enmasse. For some reason we’d decided against the usually-pathetic and very strictly-supervised school disco. However… during intermission we wandered the few blocks to where the disco was being held.
And… (in a surprise move) the guy we all fancied was there. So some of my friends decided that they’d blow off the second movie and go to the school disco instead. Obviously this was back in the day cinemas offered double-headers!
I was torn as I kinda knew it was wrong: although the school disco was heavily supervised; I was supposed to be at the movies.
Eventually however, I caved to peer group pressure (well… I didn’t want my friends to have a better chance with this guy than I did!), paid my $2 and went into the disco.
I still remember us dancing (in a circle as one did back then) to Olivia Newton John’s Physical before getting that familiar gnawing feeling in my stomach. Guilt.
So despite everything… I left and and rejoined my other friends at the cinema.
When I was home – ferried about by one of our parents – I told my parents what I’d done. They were furious.
“How can we ever trust you again?!”
“You’ve betrayed our trust!”
That sort of thing.
I was angry. It wasn’t a huge deal on the ‘naughtiness’ scale, I said. It was only a couple of blocks from one place to the other, I said. The school disco was heavily supervised, I said.
But that wasn’t the point. I was supposed to be somewhere and I went somewhere else.
This probably wouldn’t be a problem nowadays – when you can ring/text/FB/Tweet and ask permission or advise your parents of your movements. But back in the mid 80s none of that was possible.
I wasn’t grounded. I didn’t go out enough for that. But, I was in trouble. And in all honestly I guess I knew what I was doing was wrong. I wouldn’t have struggled with the guilt if I hadn’t.
Were you a well-behaved kid?
My first act of rebellion – Linking with Kerri and her #Firsts challenge!
November 11, 2013
Oh. My. GOD. You and I sound like twins at that age. I would have been EXACTLY the same. Too guilt ridden to enjoy it.
And also… the outfit? I had practically the same one. Down to the tie.
The eighties? NEVER. AGAIN. x
November 11, 2013
I was relieved the outfit didn’t involve MORE fluorescent pieces!
November 11, 2013
I was always full of guilt so was generally a goodie goodie- with a few exceptions- one of which I’ve written about today!
November 11, 2013
Oh, will have to go and read it Jo. It wasn’t until I got to Uni I realised how innocent I was!
November 11, 2013
Ahhh, yes … I remember the crush! And when there was an intermission at the movies … I think I went to the pub. Oops. x
November 11, 2013
Probably… you were friends with all of those MSHS types! 😉
PS. I heard some interesting rumours about that crush years later. (Also… WTF was I thinking?! Though the potential pool was pretty small!)
November 11, 2013
At 14 the guilt would’ve killed me yes but by 16 I was all over these situations 😉 My poor parents.
November 11, 2013
I didn’t change much between 14 & 17 sadly. I went to Uni just after my 17th birthday and I was SUCH an innocent! I still remember (in my final year of high school) someone in my social circle having a pregnancy false alarm and I was shocked anyone I knew was even having sex!
I like to think that – although I was innocent – I wasn’t naive, but I’m not sure about that!
November 11, 2013
I enjoyed this immensely. Even wrote a ‘rebel post’ myself – http://bit.ly/17YMg9h
PS. I love the pic of a young Debbish!
November 11, 2013
Thanks Lee-Anne (re the pic – a lifetime ago now!). Look forward to reading your post.
Deb
November 11, 2013
Omg!!!!! I can’t stop smiling Deb! I remember getting dropped off at the pictures & then walking to the pub!!!!! Great blog & photo by the way .
November 11, 2013
Hello there!!! I didn’t ever go to the pub – wish I’d had that ammunition back then when I was debating my naughtiness with my parents.
“But Jenny and Nicole went to the pub…. I only went to the disco” (said in whiney voice!).
November 11, 2013
Of course I was a good girl. The first time I did something I’d been expressly told not to do was when I was 16 and had my first boyfriend. I’d been told I couldn’t ride in his car because it didn’t have passenger seat belts but I did anyway. And I hid the fact till just a few years ago. My mother was still shocked.
November 12, 2013
It’s weird isn’t it. Many years later I told my parents that I used to skip classes / sessions when I was in Y12 to go to the basketball court to run or go home and bake etc (all anorexia-related) and they were shocked!
November 11, 2013
You were totally cute!!!! I was a pretty good kid I think, strapped to my trumpet for most of my high school years which helped…
November 12, 2013
Yes, I was pretty much into sport so that probably helped.
November 11, 2013
My parents would have been relieved to have you as a child. I was a bit naughty.
November 12, 2013
Hee hee.
November 11, 2013
Hi Deb! I love the 80’s hairstyle and your three belts! 🙂
No wonder you had hard time naming any wild things you’d done on my blog some time ago. 🙂 I think I was even more “pathetic” in my teens than you were, but that was because I didn’t have a social life in until I got to senior high school. And I think I still have a rebel inside me that I could let come out of the closet…
November 12, 2013
I was always pretty social, but our options in my hometown were pretty limited! Also, even though some of my friends were a bit more ‘wayward’ than me there was never any pressure and complete acceptance etc. (Most of us went from kindy to primary school to high school together).