In my town, your label is pretty much determined by the time you finish middle school and that's it. Everyone knew who I was in high school and most of the teachers liked me (except the gym teacher and the journalism teacher, but I didn't like them either
), but I wasn't, like, Homecoming Queen or anything like that. The "popular" guys would never think of dating me because 1) I wasn't blonde, 2) I wasn't easy, and 3) I lived out of town and didn't go to the same elementary school they did. They'd flirt with me, but oh, no, they could never ask me out because it wouldn't be the right thing to do. So I went to college at a pretty big state university, and I was absolutely
miserable for the first semester and a half. I would cry and cry all the time, and I hated it with a passion. The thing that bothered me the most was that you used your student number to identify yourself more than your own name. But after that it got better--much better...I joined DZ, I made some friends, I ditched my high school boyfriend, I got my anxiety under control. I personally don't think I have changed, but people in college definitely perceived me differently than my high school classmates did. My roommate in the sorority house told me once that I was "the most laid-back person" she's ever met. I was like, "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You've got to be kidding!" I mentioned that I was shy one time around some of my other sorority sisters, and they looked at me like I had sprouted horns--they just couldn't believe that. The best feeling, though, was when I went to the fair in my hometown summer before last, and I ran into a group of the hotsy-totsy guys from high school (who, I might add, stayed around here mostly). At the end of the night, Mr. I-Was-Too-Good-For-You-In-High-School himself asked me out on a date, but I told him, no, I just didn't think I was interested. That felt
so good.
