Page 44 - Philly Girl

28 Janice Shapiro

(produced in my junior year), Mrs. Horowitz is filmed assail-
ing another girl with the same dire verdict.
When I told my parents what Mrs. Horowitz said, not
surprisingly they agreed with her. They still thought that I
should become a secretary and get married and live happily
ever after.
Live happily ever after? I knew their marriage was no
picnic, and that my poor, smart older sister Faye had fol-
lowed their advice and got stuck being a secretary and was
obviously miserable.
Fortunately, my friend Janice worked in Mrs. Horowitz’s
office. She came out one day with my “permanent record”
and showed me that my IQ was high, and told me to just
ignore Mrs. Horowitz.
Which I did. Even though my grades and SAT scores
were mediocre, I applied to colleges. I even forged my unsup-
portive parents’ signatures. I had no idea how I was going to
pay for college, but first I had to get in. Temple University
basically accepted everyone in those days. I became an Owl,
worked in the library to pay for it, and lived at home my
first year.
I learned about slimy fraternities and beer, but mostly
how much more educated everyone else was. It was time to
step up my game and apply myself to school work. Which
I did.
Encouraged by my efforts, after working all day, Faye
started night school at the University of Pennsylvania. She
wound up getting an MBA and I wound up getting a PhD.
I learned that even when people you should respect think
you are nothing, they could just as well be wrong. Screw the
naysayers!