This is Me: The Teenage Years

I started documenting my life a few weeks ago using the "This is Me challenge" I found on Pinterest.  So today I continue...moving on to my teen years (brace yourselves people...at least this was pre-Facebook so I don't have any pictures to scare you with).
What activities did you participate in?
I swam.  That's an understatement actually...swimming was my life.  I was on a year-round team, ODAC, for which I practiced 9 times a week: before school, after school, Saturday mornings.  As dedicated as I sound, I really did it more for the social factor.  I met most of my friends (at least through my first couple years of high school) swimming and continued to do it for so long because of those friendships.  I also swam for my high school swim team.  Because swimming took up so much of my time, I wasn't really involved in too many other activities.  I was technically in the Key Club, National Honor Society,  and French Honor Society (cool, huh?!?).
How did you learn to drive?  What was your first car?
My parents had no desire to teach me how to drive.  They claim my driving was so bad they couldn't stomach it.  I claim it was so bad because they never bothered to let me drive!  My first boyfriend, who was a year older than me, was actually the first person to teach me to drive.  He would let me drive through the neighborhoods and stuff.  Other than that practice, I had no experience until my driver's ed class...pathetic, right?!?  I passed, but barely...seriously!  And then I slowly started driving.  My first car was a 1981 brown Volvo...yes, the same year that I was born.  My dad had bought a shiny new Mazda sports car which was supposedly going to be mine, but he ended up keeping it for himself and I got the infamous Volvo...it was truly legendary among my friends.
Who were your friends?
Like I said earlier, my best friends through the early years of high school were my swim friends.  I met my best friend (who remains one of my good friends to this day) swimming and my first boyfriend swimming.  There was a group of about 6 of us (including best friend and boyfriend)...3 boys and 3 girls (how cute, huh?) that did pretty much everything together...until boyfriend and I broke up!  It wasn't immediate, but after that, I started spending more time with my school friends.  I was really close with a group of 5 girls.  And I also spent a lot of time, at least during the season, with my high school swim team mates.

me and one of my high school best friends at my birthday dinner last year

Did you have a boyfriend? Talk about him.
As I've already mentioned, I did indeed have a boyfriend.  We dated for about a year and a half, which seemed like a really long time back then!  He was definitely the over-the-top romantic kind (well as romantic as a high school guy could be), surprising me with gifts constantly.  We went to different high schools, so he would call me each morning before school, write me a note over the course of the school day (and I would write him one as well) that we would then give to each other at swim practice/my house in the afternoon, and frequently pick me up from school (I don't remember how/why he got out earlier than me to be there...).  It's funny how now I would think that stuff was way over the top, but back then I ate it up...he was definitely my first love, and I'm ok, even now, saying that!
What was your first paid job?
I taught swim lessons through my swim team for awhile, but my first real paying job (that I got on my own and all) was as an umbrella girl on the beach.  Basically, I set up umbrellas and beach chairs each morning (which was way harder work than you would think!), sat there all day to collect money if people wanted to rent one, and then cleaned them up in the afternoon.
What were your chores at home?
This sounds lame, but I don't think I had chores at home.  I made my bed each morning...