Teen years 1972-1975

My teen years are also a blur. I went to Father MacDonald High School. I struggled academically, probably because of the lack of sleep and food.  I also had a very low self-esteem. I was always told I was fat. I was always a chubby child but certainly not obese. When I hit my teens, or even a few years before, I developed breasts and got my period. My body was changing so rapidly, and I struggled with that. Most of my friends hadn’t gotten their period, and I felt out of place. Most were tall and slim, and I was short and chubby. My periods used to be so bad that I would have to go to the nurse’s office, and then they would send me home. I could spend days in bed bent in a fetal position because of the pain. This continued for many years until I started the birth control pill at 16, which helped relieve some bleeding and pain.

My mother could have been more supportive. I guess because she had her own set of problems to deal with. I understand that today, but at the time, I didn’t. I was never told that I was pretty, never hugged, and never told that I was loved. I am amazed that I didn’t get into as much trouble as I could have. I think I developed a very tough skin. I was still very friendly and kind to people but never opened up. Only a few friends really knew me and what I was going through. They knew my family situation, and I spent as much time away from home as possible.

I had two amazing teachers in High School. My grade 7 teacher, Mr. Vanbalkom, taught math, and I’m not sure how he knew my family life, but he did. One morning, I got to school early, and he met me in the hall, took one look at me, and knew I hadn’t slept or eaten. He took me to the cafeteria and bought me breakfast. He took the time to sit with me and asked me what was going on. It was the first time I felt that an adult cared. He helped me see that there was hope. He was also a very young teacher and pretty cool. He was tall and slim and had a long beard and longish hair. I believe he was from the Netherlands. Once, I bought a can of shaving cream and gave it to him as a gift. He took the can and chased me around the school, spraying the shaving cream at me. He also really helped me so that I could pass math. It was certainly not my strong suit. In 2022, I decided to try to find him on the internet, and I was able to track him down.

I emailed him to tell him how much it meant to me to have met someone like him. Someone who helped me look at myself in a very different light.             

I decided to go into the Vocational program during my last high school years. It was a more intense course, but I would graduate a year early and be able to enter the workforce. This was very attractive because I wanted to move away from home. I couldn’t take it anymore. My homeroom teacher was Mr. John Currie. He was such a soft-spoken and kind soul. Many students took advantage of that, but it was very comforting to me. He saw my good attributes and would let me know that I had potential.

I enjoyed being in the vocational program because of him. My main focus was on office work, but mostly accounting. It was still very hard to concentrate and study, but I managed to get through it and graduated in 1975. I had just turned 16.

I think the highlight of my graduation was receiving a small trophy for “Best Effort” in English. The funny part is that it was handed to me by my French teacher, Mr. Langlois. I didn’t attend the graduation prom because I couldn’t afford it. Unfortunately, something went wrong with our yearbook, and it was never published.

Photo from 1972 yearbook.