Class of 1983

In August of this year I attended my 25th class reunion at White Sox Park (I refuse to call it US Cellular Field, sellouts). I was thrilled from the moment I heard Kelly Heeter on my voicemail informing me that we were getting together. I may be corny but I love reunions. Lourdes was a Catholic all girls school in the Marquette Park neighborhood of Chicago. My mom insisted I attend that school while I was leaning toward Cathedral in downtown Chicago, I am so glad she insisted. I was terrified my first day and proud on graduation, I loved Lourdes. The only time I had been to Marquette Park was as a scout to bowl at Archer Ave. & Pulaski Rd., we were called some not so nice names as we stood at the bus stop. In 1983 I felt very special that my mom had made the sacrifice. The reunion was so weird for me, I kept referring to my classmates as girls, like they were frozen in time. They still look the same to some degree. Friends from then were still friends. Prior to the reunion some emails describing favorite high school memories informed me just how different our experiences were. I lived on the westside unitil junior year when we moved to Logan Square, I went to school on the southside and worked in Maywood. I was constantly trying to fit in with 3 or 4 different social groups. I was the only black girl in many classes so I would look for another minority to connect with. I realize that race was a factor when I reflect on my high school years. Mayor Washington was elected my senior year and during the election one teacher was not happy when Gail Dean and I would tag his board with pro-Washington messages. After the election a girl who loved singing Double-Dutch Bus (rap) was crying because she heard her neighborhood would change, I could relate, sophomores year my neighbors said we would be slave again when Reagan became president. We chatted, exchanged updates, sang the fight song and reminisced. I enjoyed myself, I wish I had gone to the after-party and look forward to many more.