gregbo (gregbo) wrote,
gregbo
gregbo
  • Mood: nostalgic
  • Music: At Seventeen - Janis Ian

at fourteen I learned the truth ...

I've been meaning to write about my high school, seeing as this is the 30th anniversary of my first semester freshman year. I actually had something planned for the 30th anniversary of my first day at Stuy, but I found a job, so that took higher priority. There's a lot I could write; possibly I will as time goes on. Overall, I liked going to Stuy; it was probably my favorite school. But there's one thing I find it hard to imagine – that I regularly got up at 5:30 am to make it to zero-period (either Madrigals/Renaissance Choir or gym). I had a really long commute from southeast Queens to Stuy's old location (345 E. 15th St. in Manhattan). If I was lucky, it took an hour; most of the time, I was not. But the implication here is that I functioned quite regularly on less than six hours of sleep. I can't imagine doing that now; it is after 11pm as I type, and I am ready for bed. But throughout high school, I don't remember feeling really tired.

There's a longish review of Stuy at insideschools.org. Unfortunately, I don't have time to comment on specifics. I agree with many, perhaps most things in the article, at least as they pertain to Stuy of the mid-to-late 1970s. One thing that struck me as rather interesting was one alumna's comment that some Stuy students burn out in college and miss out on some of its joys. Seeing as I had a mixed (and disappointing) academic track record post-Stuy, and less fun at the 'tute than I would have liked, perhaps I shot my wad academically at Stuy and there wasn't much left for what came next. (Although regarding fun in college, I made up for it, partially, by singing in two choral groups while at UCLA.) I certainly remember putting a lot of time and effort into my classes, but a lot of that was because I really liked what I was doing (particularly in math, music, and Spanish).

Anyway, I'll close with a flashback to the top hits on NYC's highest Arbitron-rated music station 30 years ago today. If you wanna talk about stuff not played on the radio anymore, when's the last time you heard any Dickie Goodman?
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