9th Grade: The "Old" High School, Cheerleading, & Becoming a Scholar

Here is the next chapter in my Mommy's Piggy Tales project. Follow along and learn about my journey through 9th grade: 1991-92

Alright!! The mullet is growing out...ha! I decided the summer before 9th grade to start letting my hair grow. NOBODY else had the mullet look and I certainly wasn't going to be the only one. By September, this is what I looked like. It was coming along! Notice the Guess overalls in the picture. Yep, those are the same ones I got last year and they are still going strong. I borrowed the red shirt from my mom :-)

I was finally on the JV Cheerleading squad! The summer before 9th grade, we went to cheerleading camp at FSU. What a great experience. It was my first real camp away from home and was lots of fun. I roomed with my friend Felicia. We learned all kinds of new cheers, chants, & dance routines (some of which I can still do a few moves of today). We brought our own dance routine for competition and ended up winning a Superior trophy for it! Somebody somewhere has that on video. I hopefully will be able to find it someday.

I became a "Scholar" of Mrs. Rolling's 9the grade Honors English class this year. Everyone of us were her "Scholars". I learned more vocabulary from this woman than from any other teacher I've ever had. She was tough, but good. I had to memorize Antony's Soliloquy from Julius Caesar and I said it so fast nobody could believe it. The faster I talked, the less chance I would forget!

We were at the original high school this year. The new high school was beginning to be built and we would move over there in 11th grade. I enjoyed the "old" high school. I remember the days I bought school lunch, I always opted for Domino's pizza & fries. Oh, to be able to eat like that now! I hung out on the 9th grade wing with my friends at lunch every day. I will have to say I enjoyed this year. I had a good friend, Heidi, who was a senior this year. She and I hung out quite a bit, although I am sure I drove her crazy. I was so starved for a good friend. We walked to classes together and hung out at the skating rink where she worked. Her grandmother owned the place. She will never know how much she meant to me. She gave this little 14 year old the friendship I so badly craved.

Anyone else have a Hypercolor t-shirt? These were the big fad of the year. I got mine at the mall in Tallahassee. It was purple and turned pink in the heat. After quite a few washes, it quit working, but it was fun while it lasted. I loved that shirt! I took Biology this year and the big project was disecting a worm, frog, and fetal pig. I thought it was cool! Getting my learner's permit was even better though. All of us 9th graders who were studying for the written test would carry the FL Driver's Manual around school thinking we were SO cool. I had mine propped right up in the top of my books where everyone could see it. I passed on the first try and in March of 1992, I got my permit!

I forgot about Spanish class! In 8th grade, I was able to take Spanish I (which was an experience to say the least). Long story short, our instructor got deployed to the Persian Gulf. The substitute we got, bless her heart, was not very mentally stable. She talked to bananas...seriously...and one day got so upset with my class that she just ran out of the room and left! So, Spanish II was upon me in 9th grade and we had Mr. K. He was quite a character himself. I did learn a little bit. I really enjoyed playing "Bounce Ball" and having the Food Days. Many years after graduation, we all found out this guy became a nudist. We always knew there was something strange about him.

We did have a tragedy this year. My American Government teacher, Mr. Roderick was in an accident and passed away. He was a fantastic teacher. I was already finished with his class by the time this happened. He was riding horses and was thrown. It was a terrible tragedy. My Dad, being a funeral director at the funeral home, was able to take me to a private visitation all by myself. I didn't have to go with everyone else. I will never forget that.

This is me and my dog Sniffers. He and his 7 siblings were born the summer of 1991, before 9th grade. His mother was a registered beagle and his dad was schnauzer & poodle. You can tell he didn't get much of the beagle! He was a sweet dog and was my buddy until I left for college.

The summer after 9th grade, we took one of our only family vacations that I can remember. We went to Six Flags over Georgia in Atlanta. I had already been there twice with my youth group and honor society. It was fun to go with my family. My sister had just made the cheerleading squad for middle school, so she had her cheerleading shirt on. I had just tried out for 10th grade cheerleading and failed again. This would be the end of my run at being a cheerleader. Once was enough. At least I had the experience. I made a shirt, with puff paint, that you see here. It matched my sister's. It was a really great trip and we rode those roller coasters a million times. I sure can't do that anymore!

Overall, I would call 9th grade a success. It was a fun year!