High School Years: Part 1 By Corbin How life tests the endurance, patience, and sometimes faith of one young woman. Pre-Story Introduction/Ranting/Venting/Observations... I am NOT a writer...I am winging it here folks, so as far as grammar, spelling and such...I just do the best that I can. It's not so easy; trying to recount everything...so I figure that I would just start typing...hoping perhaps that I would become comfortable with a starting place, hell any starting place would due. The irony here is that before I started typing, I probably sat in front of this screen for about half an hour, just trying to start, and I actually feel there is allot to tell! But doesn't everyone have a lot to tell about their lives? We each live in our own small world...our own little universe if you will; a universe from which friends, family, loved ones come and go. It's really so complex when you think about it...everyone entering and leaving another's world... (I'll stop here or else I may begin to ramble into one of my philosophical tangents). In any case, those are the things I spend a great deal of time thinking about...life...philosophy...religion...that is, when I don't have to tend to work and other such daily grinds. Knowing this little bit, you would be correct in categorizing me as a thinker...and yes I am quiet, in addition to that I like to keep to myself, so it's ironic that over my short life on this planet (I am 24 years of age) I have managed to draw so much attention...some good...some bad...depending on the mood I am in :) I suppose there is an explanation for so much attention...there always is, which now brings us to the answer, the subject if you will that I expect most readers are really interested in...and I admit, it is my passion, a drive so deep within me that it seems to be self guided. Of course I am going to let you in *it*...allot of people know about it and know of me...that passion is 'Jiu- Jitsu'...or 'Grappling' as some of you may prefer, you may not be able to infer such passion or interest by simply observing me, because as I have indicated above, I tend to internalize many things. I am not an outwardly jovial or an excitable person, I do not bounce for joy on my toes over things that excite me (Like my friend Sharon, she is my exact opposite as you will come to quickly learn)...many times in fact I look bored...but in reality I find myself rooted to one spot, fearful of moving least I explode from the inside out I am so full of nervous energy, but energy I know how to harvest and channel when it comes to competing (Applies to activities in my day to day life as well). Well, that's about all I'm going to discuss concerning that for now. Sorry, but I am sincerely not trying to be mean here, it's just that if people are really interested in this story then you might as well forget about instant gratification...I am pretty slow in everything I do...including revealing important pieces of information about 'yours truly'. Anyway, if you've begun throwing a temper tantrum in front of your computer because I am not ready to further discuss 'My Passion' nor my competitions, then you might as well give up now and go back to those other superficial stories along with your life (or lack thereof) of instant-gratification-fast-food-drive-thru living. All sounds rather self-important doesn't it? :) Having said all that, I went thru a drastic personality change when I was about 9 or 10, which concerned my parents to the point that I landed on a couch in front of a Psychologist. It was about that age that I started to dress and act different...actually all I was doing was dressing 'down', trying to retain my tom-boyish ways...but mother nature was going to have none of that as my body developed. But clothing is a wonderful disguise and I always insisted in buying clothes at least one size too big, I wanted to have the baggy jeans like the boys and the big tee shirts and jackets. None of that wearing the waist line below the hips bullshit... Anyway, getting back on track, my clothing attire alone was not enough to push my parents in the direction of seeking out help, but it was my attitude and change in the way I was acting. Yes, I became quiet...brooding and my smile faded as I struggled with girlfriends who loved to dress in the latest fashion trends while I simply looked like a fashion 'wreck'. I have to speak my mind here and say, I am thoroughly disgusted by what I see going on around me...I see these bean-pole women on television ads for TV-shows that are suppose to be strong, athletic women yet they look so anemic and scrawny I doubt they could kick down a cardboard door. Maybe that's an unfair assessment as I don't really watch TV that much, unless it comes on PBS. I think I am just 'old' at heart and maybe too serious for my years. It seems to take me forever to rent a video as I am so damn picky about what I am willing to watch...essentially I am giving up two hours of my life for a movie so it better be damn good. TV Sitcoms - I don't watch them, boring and designed for the simple minded people of our time. So called 'Realty' Shows - Oh please, nothing real about any of them, it's just another distraction from real life...your life...my life. Sports - I don't sit around and watch sports. I need to participate in sports, not be a spectator. I am, after all extremely athletic and refuse to waist time rotting away on some couch. So anyway, back to what turned into my ongoing battle with my mother, she would buy me dresses and other fine clothes that girl's 'maturing' should wear, and I would return them to the store for cargo pants...loose fitting jeans...and large sweaters. She would fume at me, but I was never one for yelling or arguing so I just sat quietly while she lectured till she was red in the face...or blue in the face?...sometimes it was both I think. My dad, well...thank god for dear old dad, I love him so much :) he really supported me thru all of my sports and I think he was so proud to have such strong girl. I was kind of the best of both worlds, interested in playing sports while I could get dressed up (WHEN I HAD TO) and be his 'little girl'. Which brings a smile to my face as I stand damn near 5' 11", which is a curse...I don't like being the center of attention as I am going about my daily business...but when your tall, blonde (yes I'm blonde, it was bound to come up so let's get it over with) and athletic you attract attention, I mean what the fuck, am I some tourist attraction? 1 To understand me, you also have to understand my friend Sharon, which is why I have decided to start by talking a little about her. Somewhat odd since I tend to think of this as a diary of sorts, *my* Diary that is. But since it's MY diary I can damn well do what I like! :P People typically have one impression of Sharon; A conniving, manipulative, spoiled, rich, daddy's girl (did I leave anything out?) This tends to reflect badly on me, since we are best friends, housemates and on occasion lovers (Okay, maybe that's a bit more information then you needed to know, but it's going to come out anyway). I am getting side tracked and need to get back to High School where we first met. Is anyone surprised that Sharon was a Cheerleader in high school? Not just 'a' Cheerleader, but 'THE' epitome of that pretty, perky, go team...GO! bullshit Cheerleader type, she really believed that her cheers helped win games which helped contribute to her becoming the Team Captain her Senior year. I on the other hand was the exact opposite, at Pep-Rallies I just sat there and glared and those annoying cheers...they grated on my nerves...and she was so damn irritatingly...well...Cheerful! But under that girly, respectable, glitzy, high maintenance exterior is a tough as nails competitor, a girl that would not hesitate to scrap and fight if you crossed her; In fact she was suspended a few times for fighting. She won all her fights by the way, not only because she knew how to fight (thanks to Dad's boxing background) but Sharon was extremely athletic. One look at her in that Cheer outfit and you knew those high flying jumps, spins and kicks from her long muscular legs could also knock the snot out of you if you pissed her off. The uniforms at our school were a bit too revealing for my taste, yet it seemed to fit right in with Sharon's attitude cause she loved showing off her strong, toned abs. Along with giving away amble amounts skin along her neck, back and shoulders. I guess you might have already assumed that Sharon was big into playing the tease and liked to torment guys with her little seductive poses and flirtatious hair flips...*SOMEONE GAG ME NOW AS I TYPE THIS!!!* I suppose you readers want to know what she looks like? Well typically, Sharon pinned most of her long, brown hair back behind her head, leaving only a few wispy trails of loose hair to frame her face and cheeks. Sharon's naturally olive skin complexion meant that the slightest bit of sun added a nice tanned quality to her body. Her round, deep, blue eyes beautifully enhanced the oval outline of her face, as a pair of full lush lips formed under a disgustingly, petite perfect nose. As I've already mentioned, this sexy, innocent look could change with the flip of a switch into the bad, evil bitch Sharon. And guess who she was 'going-with' her junior and senior years? Captain of the football team...excuse me while I pull my trash can closer and prepare to heave chunks at that sweet thought...grrrrr..... I on the other hand I was so introverted I rarely had a boyfriend...hell, I rarely dated. Sharon could wrap any guy around her finger and string him along, I guess it was a sense of empowerment that she enjoyed. She never took her dating David (Mr. Big Shot Capt.) too seriously as they were both Seniors and going to different College's in the fall; 'Besides, High School boys are such a bore.' she would always say, 'I can't wait for College and really scope out the whole social scene.' For now though, she felt that certain expectations were to be met and dating a popular guy was a must within her group of friends. Now comes the hard part...elaborating on the social structure within our School...and pretty much the community we lived in. It was fairly complex so let me start with something small....like our High School... My School was an extremely socially complex place, paramount to that was the fact that it was private and small in class size. Those two factors meant that the slightest bit of gossip could spread in minutes and depending on who you talked to, each 'click' had its own interpretation of who held the top rung of the social ladder. Regardless, the general consensus was that the Cheerleaders were the snobbiest, socialite bitches to ever grace the halls of this school and the girl's Softball Team were among their biggest critics. In fact, a verbal war had been waged between the factions for the past couple of years, fortunately that was the extent of it. It didn't help matters that everyone now knew that when Sharon mentioned "The Pigs", she was referring to the Girl's on the Softball team. That really didn't help things at all...thankfully I stayed in my own orbit, outside the political warfare, 'fly below the radar' was my motto :) and most of the time I succeeded. Okay, just so you know, Sharon never really took her bitchy attitude seriously, but it seemed that others couldn't see the lighter side of it, 'hell if I care' she often brushed the matter aside but as I got to know her I discovered that she really did care. Oddly enough, our paths rarely ever crossed, not even a single hello or acknowledgment from her, then again I never paid Sharon much attention either. When we finally did met, well...let's just say it was extremely memorable... It was a hot, humid day...I remember that clearly because all the gym doors to the outside were open and several big fans were setup to keep the air circulating. Now just so you know, I took gymnastics and that paticular day was practice, I believe I was in the middle of working on a Sissone when I heard that annoying squeaking sound that sneakers make when one is walking across a freshly polished basketball court. Which is what our gym is, one giant basketball court...amongst other uses. Anyway, I give a casual glance over and here comes her highness, nose in the clouds, but now she's giving me the once over and I'm just standing there in my gymnastics leotard staring at her like some retard or something. Oh and I love this part, she gives me her famous diva sneer and glances away, 'Like what the hell was that?' I'm thinking and now I'm pumped because while Sharon is athletic, she has nothing on me in the physical department (more on that later) but she can't touch me with some of the moves I can perform on the floor. So I go back to concentrating and I can just feel those eyes of hers looking back at me now...judging me...as I perform 'Back-in, Full-out' (look it up folks, not easy to do) and I land perfect with a smile on my face cause I know she couldn't touch that! HA! One up on Sharon. But you see, Sharon never really paid much attention to anyone on the Gymnastics team as though every breath she inhaled was full of superiority. True, allot of my friends on the team were Cheerleading 'rejects' (as Sharon liked to call it) but I never applied for the Cheerleading squad, so she couldn't count me amongst that group. Listen to me! I sound like Sharon now, 'That Group' is some of my best friends too. Why did I never apply for Cheerleading? I was encouraged to, but in this town, who your parents know and how popular you were played a big factor. Sharon's father is a big-wig executive within one of the largest Corporations in the Country, there was little she didn't receive when asked for. But even once you made the team, you had to know how to 'kiss ass' and that I cannot tolerate, nor perform that very well...has something to do with self-respect and dignity, I like those two qualities and think I do a good job of hanging onto them :) So I'm going to swing the spotlight on me for a moment, because it was in High School that I discovered the weight room...specifically weight lifting. Now, just to give you an idea of how spoiled our school was, the girls had their own exercise room, separate from the guys, how pampered is that? But to be honest, I would rather have worked out with the guys. Aside from the annoying 'hit up' for dates issue (which I can deal with), the guys in my school seemed more focused on going in and working out. On the girl's side...*sigh*...the weight room was nothing more then a chatter-box/social- club for most of the girls to lounge around in, never mind that lifting was actually part of our training routine, but you would never know that if you walked in there. Unless you were the Coach and then suddenly all the girls were grunting and sweating...pathetic...but the Coach new what they were up to, she would just smirk knowingly when she would walk in. Running, swimming, gymnastics, they all came natural to me...I was fearless...and when I started to curl weights I was shocked to see my body respond. But I'll be honest, I really held back for awhile because I was going thru some personal issues at that time...I was being pulled in a million directions it seemed; Parents, Teachers, and boys. Picking up those weights meant going down a road that would only further separate me from the 'image' my mother had for me. That's right 'FOR ME', she wanted to mold me into this girly-girl dressed all in pink *hack**cough**barf* and I knew if I started coming home all toned-up from lifting she would go berserk! And she did, go berserk that is :( Which means that 'Yes', I started lifting...but I didn't bulk up right away...that took some more time, initially I was just enthralled with the way my body was responding to the simplest of routines! It was...well...it was like as I started to map out my lifting schedule (with help from my coach) I likened it to creating a sculpture...and it was my body! MINE! I was so thrilled! My breasts shrank some, but not nearly as much as I was hoping, I knew/know girls who just about lost all of their boobs after they started lifting; what I wouldn't give (give up more like it) to have that problem. Having these knockers swinging around is no fun folks! 'D' Size, but still...annoying at times...and beneficial in other ways :) Amazing what a nice pair of breasts will do for you! Things came to a head one day near the end of the school year when I was standing in my room, back to the door, I had just had taken my shirt off and was about to unhook my bra when I heard my mother burst into tears. I spun around and she was crying! I must admit, I had just come from lifting so I was still all pumped up and sweating. I really wasn't all that big then as I had just started, I mean I don't know....I guess my Mom hadn't seen me without a shirt on for a couple of months if you can believe that so she was just shocked. I think my Mom had some of that 'Sharon' Drama energy, she was constantly harassing me about crap like...'Are you on Steroids?' , 'Why are you exercising so much Corbin? It's not normal!' "But Mom" I would say, "I'm gaining weight not loosing it!" Gheesh, she could never understand that...thank god that was then and this is now! I remember she drove me to the Dr. once and even the Dr. had a hard time convincing her I was in phenomenal shape, better then any other girl he's ever examined. Don't get me wrong, I know my mom was concerned and I love her for that...but gheesh, talk about overbearing sometimes. Well now, let's get back on track with that day in the gym when Sharon and I first met. Sharon disappeared into the locker room, (another annoying fact! The Cheerleaders had finagled their way to obtaining a whole row of lockers side by side, and they were the best lockers in the girl's room. This was another stunt that really ticked off allot of other girls in the school.) I recall a few times that I walked into the locker room and would observe Sharon meticulously laying out her clothes, taking her own sweet time, and taking up as much room as she damn well pleased. This often pushed the envelope on a few confrontations in our school, and that is exactly how Sharon and I met, when things almost came to blows...you'll see... :)