Page 15 - eBook Living Water 2

became a Little All American basketball player. He wasn’t a
naturally gifted athlete, but his determination to succeed was fueled
by dad’s adulation. Walt was the first person on either side of our
family to graduate college. Going to college was big on my parents’
“must do” list for us.

In 1957 I graduated eighth grade. Entering high school felt
like being thrown into an ice cold tub of water, shocking me into the
reality of the “dog eat dog” world of peer pressure. Gone were the
nine years with the same twenty familiar grammar school kids; my
years of innocence. There were three hundred students in our
freshman class. I found out in short order that what you wore, how
you looked, and who you hung around with mattered a lot.

Me 1960 – age 16

I was jolted into having to grow up fast. I began to primp
myself with the latest outfits from the trendy local clothing stores and
styled my hair in a popular bouffant hairdo; trying to morph into what
an “in” person might look like. However, my insides weren’t
morphing very well. I didn’t feel good about myself. On top of that,
Walter was a senior again, as he had to take extra courses to prepare
for college. His continuous mocking of me in school, as well as at
home, took a huge toll and I began to develop an anxiety/performance
disorder. Eventually, by my senior year, my way of coping with my
unrest was to fortify myself with a few swigs of alcohol stolen from
my parents’ liquor cabinet before leaving for school.