The theme for our 8th grade dance at St. John's in 1983 was the television show M*A*S*H. I can't remember what month this took place in but I'm pretty sure it was after the big series finale episode of that programme. I was into M*A*S*H back then but really don't care for it anymore. My brother does though - he has the DVDs of all the seasons. All of our parents did a very good job of decorating the gym/auditorium for this dance. My main memory of it is not a nice one. A boy did ask me to dance but that was only because his friends dared him to. I overheard this and told that boy no. I am glad that my mom did take pictures of this event despite that upsetting memory.
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Ah, yes, junior high dances...fortunately I have mostly good memories of these. The one that I did have a bad experience at was during the our end of the 8th grade year dance, which was like a prom. I asked a guy that I had been crushing on for sooo long to dance, and his date laughed at me the whole time we were dancing (she was one of the girls who bullied me) and half way through the dance he just let go of my hands and left me. Then, the person that I thought was my best friend at the time danced with him and then bragged to me about it, knowing full well how much I liked him. Yes, good times! But...that is in the past, and I'm proud of the person I have become, and if that guy were around today and came onto me I'd have zero interest. And he was actually quite ugly, so I don't know what I saw in him to begin with. I bet the loser is now fat with 5 kids that he can't afford...snicker.
I still remember the song..."Nothing's Going to Stop Us Now" by Jefferson Starship. To this day I don't really like that song.
Anyways, sorry to hear that boy and his friends only asked you to dance as part of a dare/joke. Hope karma was a beyotch to all of them!
Pam- I feel bad that you had such a terrible experience at your dance too. That girl sounds like a real bitch and what your friend did was awful. He shouldn't have been such a jerk and stopped dancing with you. It's good that you are able to have such a positive outlook on life despite this. Sometimes I kind of let negative memories affect me even presently. I've got to learn to let go.
It's funny that you said that about your grade school crush. I look back at pictures of mine and also think what did I ever see in them, particularly the one. It is so embarrasing that my dad knew about mine and actually asked the 2of them to stand next to me for a photo that he took on graduation day.
I can't even remember what song was playing when Joe asked me to dance, only the laughter of his friends. I can see why you wouldn't like that song since it is attached to such a negative memory. Thanks for sharing this with me. I'm feeling a little better about myself now.
Rest assured you're definitely not alone, LaraAnn. So many people were bullied growing up. I know it affected me and my self esteem for a very long time as far as relationships go because admittedly I was a geek in junior high and didn't know how to present myself the best and I really didn't get how to dress more sexy until I made it to college (many fashions of the 80s and 90s didn't help us!)
I have two awesome books to recommend (since I read your comment on my other blog): Real Magic by Wayne Dyer and You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay. I absolutely recommend Louise's book first because she was the lady who turned me onto positive thoughts and her story is so inspirational because she had the roughest childhood and didn't realize her potential until adulthood. And the book is colorful, bright, friendly and a quick read. She helps a lot with overcoming bad childhoods in the book.
Hope you have a great weekend!
What a touching post and series of comments. So sorry they treated you badly Lara. You of all people do not deserve that. You can add me to the list of kids who were bullied, geeky and had bad dance experiences in junior high. Like Pam said, those experiences help shape you into a better person. And like you Lara, the memories affected me deeply but I've grown out of that and have learned how to combat it. A supportive family, positive/constructive thinking, creativity and making tiny changes each day really does help.
I love coming here b/c of all the kind people and inspirational stories. xo
PS: I love the MASH cake!!
Chelly - Thanks so much. I have a vague memory of that cake tasting good. I'm the dork dancing off to the left in the picture under that one. It's a shame that kids have to be so cruel and bully others. It is good that you were able to overcome all that and become a stronger person. I'm still working on it but it seems that ever since I've been at this site that the support of my friends here have helped me greatly with this issue which I really appreciate.
Sorry to hear that you had some tough times in school as well, Chelly...and I agree: the M*A*S*H* cake rocks!
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