Hubby and I started watching "Freaks and Geeks" a few nights ago and it reminds me a little bit of my teenage life. I've always felt awkward. Half freak, half geek. Part of it stems from being raised by super strict parents. The other part was that we moved to Long Beach, California from Guam in 1986 when I was 11 years old. Being a pre-teen is weird territory as it is but all I knew was my sheltered life on an island with strict parents and a huge, close-knit family. That isolation ultimately made me feel like the weirdest girl at Hudson Elementary. But I made friends quick because Long Beach is crazy diverse. It was also a Navy city so I probably wasn't as misplaced as I thought I was. That doesn't mean I didn't have growing pains. I was Millie but wanted to be Lindsay.
One of the funniest stories of my youth was when I had my best friend Denise over one time and we were in my yard and some girl started picking on Denise so she called her a slut. All hell was about to break loose - it looked like a pair of chickens bawking when my mom came outside and called us in. My mom asked us what happened and I told my mom that the girl was mad because Denise called her a slut. I had no clue what the big deal was - what the hell was a slut anyways. Denise had to tell me after my mom gave us a lecture. She immediately called Denise's mom to pick her up and I wasn't allowed to hang with her ever again. And that was the start of my curiosity... what were my parents not telling me? What were they hiding? My whole life I always thought they were on the up and up. This was when I started to rebel.
( I'm working on a series of stories about growing up. )
Have you ever related with a character on a show or movie?
Labels: Freaks and Geeks, Growing Up, Lindsay, Long Beach, Millie, My Life, NaBloPoMo
