Friday, May 11, 2012

Stuck In the 70s . . . Not!


I don't know about the rest of you, but I am SO GLAD that I'm not the same person that I was in high school!  If time had been frozen in the 70s, I would have died!    I was so shy, and so unsure of myself.   I had no opinions.  No self-confidence.   Not to mention my hair!!!  Yikes!  Have you ever thought of some of the stupid things you did as a teenager?   Sometimes blindly following your friends, or sometimes thoughtlessly leading the pack.  I think we all did silly, stupid things simply because we were young.   Things that, as adults with more experience and knowledge and more brain function, we look back at now and think, "What an idiot!!  What was I thinking??!"   

Well, that's what this life is all about . . . learning and growing and becoming better.   We learn from text books, we learn from life experiences, we learn (hopefully) from our mistakes, we learn from each other.  There shouldn't be a day that goes by that we don't learn . . . something!   Anything!   And then take from those lessons the things that will help us be better, kinder, more compassionate, better citizens, better children, more grateful . . . more happy!

So Yea for growing and learning!!

But now . . . back to the 70s - - the most forgettable time of my existence.   If it weren't for wax lips and Styx, the 70s would have been a complete waste of my time :)

 Anyway, go learn something new today and report back!

36 comments:

  1. I'm with you in that I would not go back to being the person I was in high school. Honestly, I'd say the same for college and law school. I was weak, let the men in my life control me and had zero confidence in myself. Life is about growth, and I'm so thankful for where I am!

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    1. Children are the ultimate learning and growth experience! You have begun a wonderful journey!!

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  2. I'm on this bus! I was in high school in the late 80's so you know I contributed to the ozone depletion with my big hair - it was scary!
    I graduated with most of the same people I went to kindergarten with, so once you were in a clique - you stayed there. So I was a nobody. I joined the Navy after graduation and got away ASAP! During those 8 years I learned to be ME and to just ignore the small minded people who live in the same bubble as their parents.
    Best thing out of the 80s? Hair bands!

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    1. Isn't it great when we are finally comfortable with who we are?!

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  3. I learned that emails stunt my work progress... there's even a study about it now. http://www.workopolis.com/content/advice/article/2265-the-way-we-work-is-making-us-dumber-and-what-you-can-do-about-it?CID=721:19L:14946

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    1. There's a study about everything now :)!

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  4. OMgosh I love this posting. I have a family member who is stuck there. I am seriously thinking of printing your post and giving to her as the first of her 12 step program Steppn' Outta the 70's. It is so bad I have often made comments about needing a time capsule to go collect her. :)

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    1. Man, I know I'm speaking from my own experiences, but why would anyone willing stay in the 70s?!!

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  5. No way no how would I want to be in the 7o's again!! Styx was the 1st concert I ever saw and then got to see them a few yrs back again WOW they were A M A Z I N G!!! (still). I was a foster care kid real ugly piece of work so I regret my high school yrs totally, but found the Lord loved me regardless of my bad attitude and well life became good!!

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    1. Foster care can be so sad . . . glad life is good for you now!!! And so glad that the Lord love us unconditionally :)

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  6. I didn't mind high school one bit. I didn't make a splash, but I wasn't a wallflower either. I do know that I learned to follow rules, how to interact with others accepting differences in opinion and action, as well as dress and status, and most importantly I learned to be a good friend and to treat others as I wished to be treated. I think there are times we do choose to hold people responsible for their actions in high school, otherwise we would not hold 16 and 17 yr olds to murder, since we feel they knew the difference between wrong and right and are adult enough to know that their actions can and will follow them for the rest of their lives.

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    1. My sisters didn't mind high school, either. Just me . . . and yes, at that age we should be held accountable for our actions - - and pay consequences, if necessary.

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  7. So agree with you about not being the same person as I was in high school (gasp more than 35 years ago!) But its like I told my son regarding some of his friends and I tell my hubby aobut our son, "the person you are today is going to be a totally different person five years from now". I think we do continually learn each and every new day of our lives if we allow ourself to learn to grow and to change. May you have an enjoyable weekend!

    betty

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    1. I have told all my children that high school (even college) is just a preparation for "real life" :)

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  8. We should allow others to do the same thing. We need to let others grow up and be different than they were in high school. There are people I haven't seen since I graduated and have had no desire to see, simply because they were, IMHO, creeps in high school. They did some unkind things to a friend of mine and I just did not like them at all. She has passed away now and I was surprised at the outpouring of care and love by some of the same people I thought treated her poorly in high school. I guess that's one of the lessons I've learned, if I can grow and change for the better, then I should allow others to grow and change for the better also. The best thing about the 70s? John Denver, I still love his music. The first Star Wars movie and my discovery of Harrison Ford.

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    1. Yes! My husband (who has been out of high school a long long time) remembers being bullied by a couple of boys and can't see them as anybody BUT those boys . . . even after all these years. But we all can change . . . thankfully.

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  9. I am so old now . I do not even remember what I was us to in the 70s but I see what you are saying and it is a fun post !
    anni

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    1. Anni, your photos make you seem very young :)

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  10. Well for me the early/mid 70s were awesome because that was elementary school, although I did enter 7th grade in 1976, and from that point on, it was pretty wretched! OMG remember Earth Shoes? lol

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    1. I don't remember Earth Shoes - - I'll have to google!

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  11. I have a different perspective on the '70s. That's when all my children were born, so it was a pretty wonderful decade for me. And as far as being stuck in the past, nah. Doesn't mean a thing that I listen to music from the '50s and '60s. Nothing at all. I sure as heck don't want to RELIVE those years. Just l-o-v-e that music.

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    1. I also LOVE the music from the 50s and 60s! The best music EVER!

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  12. Thanks for the visit and comment. Really, I could have written that post myself, totally like me in the 70's too...early 70's...EEK!

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    1. Glad it's not just me with those EEK memories!!

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  13. I just learned from you that I need to lighten up on my tween daughter. I expect her to be perfect, stand up for herself be her own person kind of girl. I wasn't my first year of middle school. I was an insecure girl so eager to be part of the "group". Thanks for reminding me that it's ok she is changing, growing, making mistakes and god willing learning. I still love Styx..btw.

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    1. Isn't that the truth, Jennifer?! Sometimes we expect our children to be far better and more mature than we ever were at that age! Your tween will grow to be a beautiful person!!

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  14. http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/10/learn-something-new-your-brain-will-thank-you/?hpt=he_t2

    Now I'm off to google wax lips ... I honestly know nothing.

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  15. I was a young tyke in the 70's so I don't remember much except Sesame Street and the bright orange bell bottoms I used to wear. The 80's were my crazy time - big hair and lots of Bold Hold!

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    1. Ya, I was a young tyke too - wink wink :)

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  16. My sister's hair is stuck in the 80's. Sometimes people have a hard time with change. Not me. Move on, baby!
    (Thanks to Tara at Faith in Ambiguity, I learned how to massage an opossum.)

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    1. Jewels - I'm impressed that you learned how to massage an opossum - my only question is "why would you want to?"!

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  17. How true. And I am always amazed at how people grow up and forget what it was like to be young and the multitude of indiscretions so easily made...

    Nice post!

    Pearl

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    1. Pearl - are we just more judgmental as we grow older??

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  18. Being a teenager was something I just gritted my teeth and got through! Whew! So glad when I hit my 20's and started mellowing out some.

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    1. I was more happy for my 30s, Michelle - took me a while to grow up :)

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  19. I had a great time as a teen .. tho I think now looking back I would have been happier at my local high school vs the special school I attended ... got married in the 70s so I think for me it was a good time.

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