Healing of Memories Part 2

It's no secret that I didn't enjoy school, ok maybe I enjoyed the 8th grade at Gobume High School. A public school built on Goba's private land..

Taken in grade 11, organizing committee for the matric farewell of that year. 

 I absolutely hated this photo, I think I still do. None of them were my friends at the time this photo was taken. Joyful sort of became a friend at varsity but very briefly.

My eyes were closed because that was and still is my reaction to flashlight. Over the years I have mastered the art of keeping my eyes open when taking photos.👏

I was put into this committee against my will.

For some reason when I look at this photo I am reminded of Hleza. I hope she's well, wherever she is. She wasn't my friend but I feel like we should have supported her better.

I feel like women are taught and expected to betray each other. We had a female principal but you couldn't tell.

I remember how she would swing a wet mop our direction and chase us away from the bathrooms during breaks, because some boys wanted the segregation to end. In her mind, we were responsible for the boys wanting to end 'separation'. I remember how talking to your brother at school would be treated like high treason. That was just messed up to say the least.

They had put 12 of us girls in a class full of boys in my grade (from grade11 to 12) but expected is not to even know their names. (It wasn't an unrealistic expectation because as it turns out, there are classmates I didn't know until I saw pics of them on social media 20 years later😂)

This fascination with separating girls from boys in a co-ed school was more than just weird, it was creepy.

Don't get me wrong, I would have loved to be in the girls-only class. I enjoyed having girls only entrances and walkways. Did it stop boys from calling girls on the shared phone at the girls hostel? NOPE. In fact they hogged the phone so much, you were lucky if you were able to phone your parents once a term.

I eventually found a way to go home at least once during the school term in matric. Oh those permission slips and my mom's phonecalls to the principal's office were sweet! My duty was to clean the principal's office in Matric. I took full advantage of it. It got me into trouble though one time when an anonymous letter was found on the principal's desk, those boys were ready to get me expelled so they could talk to girls. #Hormones #adolescence