Growing up female

[Scout]

12. i took mechanical drawing too--7th or 8th grade

i should have also taken architectural drawing in jr high ... and then studied architecture. but i didn't. i did get an A in mech drawing. i don't remember it being a rule that girls couldn't take these classes, but hardly any ever did while i was in school.

i took industrial arts, only girl in the class and was appointed "class secretary" by the teacher ... *i* had to take attendance for him. (of course there weren't any other class "officers" like president, so why he needed a secretary is beyond me.) some of the boys would throw scrap pieces of wood at me when the teacher was out of the room or occupied somewhere else--i tried to do like mom said and ignore them--they finally stopped when i started throwing them back. i played 3rd base and catcher and had a better arm than them, hahahaha!

i also took home ec, loved the cooking, hated the sewing.

i am 52 and could not wear pants to school until 5th grade. in the winter we would have to stuff our dresses into our snow pants and have big bustle butts, or freeze w/o the snowpants.

my mother told me to "hide my light" under a bushel basket; and not to go around "beating" (NOT PHYSICALLY, i didn't fight) men. verbal sparring, riddles, stuff like that.