High School Yearbooks Part 1: 1955 - 1957 Downsview Collegiate

I spent this morning skimming through old high school yearbooks looking for clues to myself, an emerging self, during my middle teen-age years. I’m searching for triggers for stories or turning points that illustrate the emotional development of my protagonist, i.e., me.


My high school life clearly reflected 1950s growth in North York, a suburb of  Toronto. My friend Sandy, one year ahead of me, went to Bathurst Heights where they had a split-shift system to accommodate everyone while another high school was being built. When I was ready for Grade 9, Downsview Collegiate opened, though construction was still going on for the gymnasium and pool. After Grade 10 we moved to another new school, Northview Heights, where I completed high school.

My Grade 9 profile in the first yearbook almost escaped my glance. I appear in a photo of the Grade 9 Volleyball Champion team, curly-haired, smiling and tallest, in my blue romper-style gym-suit, cutoff sleeves the only hint of rebellion. I see the red-haired object of my silent crush in a photo of the Midget Basketball team. I seem to recall being in the Junior Choir but don't recognize myself in the photo until after I find my name listed in an old programme for Variety Night, held April 27-28, 1956.

My Grade 10 profile didn’t change much. Junior Basketball Champions photo very similar to grade 9’s. Still smiling nervously. Though I remember going, no mention of my name on the Junior Volleyball Jamboree team that went to George Harvey and lost. I see pictures of boys that liked me but I had no interest in. I do remember going to school dances but never had a boyfriend and never went to the proms. Not many Grade 9 and 10ers did.

By Grade 11, at a new school with an upbeat atmosphere, I believe I made a conscious resolve to be less shy and more involved in school life. I joined the Drama Club!

Back at My Desk

The holidays are over and I'm back at my desk trying to figure out the next step in my memoir writing. I have decided to focus on 2 things in January:

• to finish my first draft. I have the last 1/4 to write.
• to follow in January, Martha Alderson's 2nd Annual International Plot Writing Month tips she wrote in the month of December on her blog: http://www.plotwhisperer.com/

I started in a low key sketching out my Character Emotional Development Profile. I have done this before for other characters. I thought it was easy, even fun to do. This time I found it challenging to stand back and analyze myself as a character. What are my fears, my flaws, my strengths? What do I love? hate? Even worse, what are my secrets? I did the exercise but I will need to go back and add more details. Maybe if I imagine I am watching my life on a stage from the balcony, I will be able to be more objective.

The next thing I did was to print out all I have written of my book. Not read it, just print it! Sounds simple. To my surprise, even when I eliminated the double-spacing, I have about 100 pages. The sheer bulk of it had an emotional impact on me. I feel that I am going to succeed now in finishing this book. Some of it is garbage: notes to myself and a lot of question marks. But some of it is well-written and interesting. Though I still have a long way to go, I can't wait to see the final product.