High School Junior Journal

So I found a section of a journal I had to write for my 11th grade English class — 1983-1984, 16 years old. This is eight pages torn from a spiral notebook, with each entry written in pencil. Here’s the transcription, including poor grammar and spelling and all…

Sept. 7.  So far school has been great. So my day was too.

Sept. 8.  Things have gotten better. I’m beginning to talk to people more and I don’t feel like a stranger.

I don’t remember why I would feel like a stranger in 11th grade. I attended the same high school 9th through 12th grades. So that entry confuses me.

Sept. 9.  I’m having great fun. Today is Friday but I wish we still had a few more days at school before the weekend.

Sept. 12. School is still great. It seems people think that this girl I’ve been talking to is my girlfriend. But their wrong. I have no girlfriend and won’t none.

I know who this girl is because her name is at the top of the notebook page where I wrote a note to her saying, “Cammy, Please don’t read this.” I remember Cammy.

Sept. 13. Well nothing much has changed. I’m still having fun.

Sept. 14. Its been about the same today.

Sept. 15. Its been a wild day. This girl I’ve been talking to has all-of-a-sudden gotten lots of enemies.

Sept. 16. Nothing much has changed, still having a good ole time.

Sept. 20. This has been a tiring day.

Sept. 21. This has been a great day. Everything has been going my way. I found out something that everyone though I wasn’t but I am.

It seems that my junior high school year started off really good. I don’t remember why every day was great, fun, wild, or tiring. And I don’t remember what the Sept. 21 entry meant. The vagueness of that one short sentence intrigues me.

Skipping ahead a few entries, I find that some things about male-female relationships are pretty much constant.

Oct. 5.  Today has been pretty good. But a girl is mad as fire at me and I don’t know why. She want speak to me or let me know what she’s mad about. So I’ll just let her be mad. If she won’t talk to me theres nothing I can do to straiten what ever it is out.

Here and there through the pages of this journal, my teacher wrote short, one- or two-word notes in red pen. At the end of the above entry, she wrote, “Right”. It’s good to know your English teacher has your back in your adolescent relationships.

Oct. 10. Today has been hectic <- is that the correct spelling? Not much has happened today, its just that I haven’t had enough sleep. I went to the Street-A-Fair yesterday and a channel 12 camera man filmed us for a while. So I stayed up till 11:00 to see if I was on T.V. Unfortunately I wasn’t.

I actually remember this situation. The Street-A-Fair was, (is? I don’t know if it still happens), a sort of fall festival in the downtown of my hometown with food and music and various demonstrations by local businesses and performers. I was there on a date with a girl and her friend. I remember seeing the TV camera, and I remember it was trained on us for a good amount of time. But, sadly, when the local news that night showed footage of the street activities, we weren’t shown.

There’s much more in these journal pages, and maybe I’ll show more of my young days later.

Bullgrit