Are you the same now as you were in high school?

If you met my high school self, you would not recognise me as the same person as I am now. I was a pitifully shy, quiet, nerdy student with low self esteem. I knew I was bright but I never told anyone how clever I was. I had few friends, wasn’t one of the popular girls, and was too shy to talk to a boy I liked. My hair was short and green. Yes, green from the pool chlorine because I trained every day except Saturday. Not very flattering. I was a reader and spent as much time in the library as on the tennis court. I didn’t wear any makeup but tried to redden my already red cheeks with pink chalk. I was a plain Jane. The only thing going for me was my brain.

After high school and before university started, I worked a holiday job in a factory that made tins and cans. Petrol drums of different sizes , kerosene cans, icecream cans. Each had a different line. I don’t know if it was the 415 volts of electricity that changed me but I started Uni a completely different person. Within days, I had boys vying for my attention which did wonders for my self confidence. Maybe I wasn’t as plain as I saw myself in high school? I stepped into my role as a primary teacher and I became the best teacher in our school. There’s that confidence shining through. I joined the English Teachers’ Association and immediately became secretary. I got a few of my fellow teachers together and…