Sophomore year found me a little wiser, a little less timid, and I found the courage to try out for…

But wait! I’m sure you are wondering — What did I do during the summers?

The summers before my freshman and sophomore years, I took summer school. My parents thought it would be a good idea to take summer school classes before school started in the fall, so that I could get used to the huge building and meet some other kids. I took two short classes: Consumer Education, where I learned how to balance a checkbook, and Typing. Today I’m typing on a laptop keyboard instead of an electric typewriter, but I still use the touch typing I learned in typing class. I still remember the girl who sat next to me in typing class wore a Frankie Goes to Hollywood T-shirt. All the cool kids had one.

Before my sophomore year, I took Driver’s Ed during summer school. And while I wasn’t thrilled about taking classes during the summer, they allowed me to take an elective during the school year that I really wanted to take: choir. Being in choir gave me the courage and opportunity to try something new. In the spring, I auditioned for the school musical, and made it into the chorus! After weeks of after school rehearsals, learning how to be on stage, and memorizing song lyrics…I performed along with other cast members on stage two weekends in a row for the musical Guys and Dolls. My role? Rich Texan Wife touring The City with her husband!

Every year the Art Department would have a contest. Art students would design a logo for the musical, and the winner’s artwork would go on posters, T-shirts, and programs. Ten years after I was in Guys and Dolls, my high school chose it as the school musical again. My little sister, now attending my alma mater, won the art contest that year.

Musicals were one of my favorite things about high school! The following year I became involved in another activity that was also right up my alley….