S Atkinson:
CLASS OF 1978
Lake Braddock Secondary SchoolClass of 1978
Burke, VA
S's Story
I skipped school as often as I could. On a lovely day, you could find me in a rowboat in the middle of a lake.
My first job was scraping and painting my orthodontist's wooden power boat. I probably made about $2 an hour, and I saved that to help pay for the purchase of my own first boat. A lovely little sailboat.
My biggest surprise is that I've come full circle. The National Park Service illegally used gender bias to deny my the opportunity to be a Sea Scout with the unit it sponsored. I missed out on leadership and character development, as well as mentoring.
Now I'm the leader of a very active ...Expand for more
and highly recognized Sea Scout ship. Even without the benefit of the Sea Scout program, I made myself into the kind of person who can give youth those things that I was denied.
My one do-over? I would have never given up my dreams. It's not too late to reclaim them, and I am doing so, bit by bit. I wish I had hung onto them, gone after them. Not that I'm unhappy where I am now, just that I wouldn't have had to go so long without realizing my dream.
At my high school reunion, everyone would be surprised at how that quiet, sad girl turned out to be vivacious and happy. In fact, they'd be blown away!
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