THEN
Day 1 memory
"I don’t have a vivid memory of “Day 1—AHS”. I’m sure I was nervous. The year before, my mother decided, wisely, I should attend AHS. She was a teacher at Anderson HS and she did not want me around. LOL. Frankly, I was glad for the opportunity to stand on my own at a new school, in a new neighborhood. She gave me the choice of letting me stay at Murchison for the last 6 weeks or changing to O’Henry. I was ready to move on, so I tried to make some friends at O’Henry before summer and before “AHS - Day 1.” I’m sure I sought out people I’d met at O’Henry, but in my memory, it seems like a blur. I remember my first class at UT, but I don’t remember my first class at AHS, which makes me a bit sad bc I don’t know exactly why. (Awkward side note… my last day at Murchison, I tore my ACL in two in PE. First day at O’Henry and for the rest of 8th grade year, I limped around on crutches. Nobody asked me what happened, and I didn’t know how to introduce myself and also explain my injury all at once. I do remember Bryan Jamail held my books one afternoon so I could climb the steps of the bus. Thanks for that btw…. By the time summer was over, I walked normally again. Years later, after a conversation with Cyndi Barbour wherein I explained the history of my injury, and mused about why no one asked about my leg, she remarked, “We all thought you were crippled.” Awkward…LOLOL)"
My advice to my teenage self is...
"…when you read the sign “Everybody’s Somebody at Austin High” DON’T dismiss it as some cringey saying made up by adults who want compliance or… supernatural responsibility. Instead, believe it. Believe that you have a gift, search for it, learn to use it, and carry yourself accordingly."
<<My favorite class...>>
"...was probably choir because I enjoyed singing, and we had no homework. As for academics, I loved Western Civilization w Coach Patrick. I just love a good story. Somehow he held my attention through the Roman Empire, the Ottoman Empire and the rise of Western Europe. (Side note: Coach Patrick’s class was where I was when I got a message from the office that my brother had been born. Now my brother is 43 with 2 kids. I’m an aunty and it’s so fun!) I also thoroughly enjoyed reading Othello in Mrs Pritchett’s English class as a senior. It made me feel smart, and as I already said, I love a good story. Although I think I came back late a couple times after lunch. I sat in the front near the windows, since my name starts with B. (Great. No way to sneak in). Finally, there was Ms Leyla Cohlmia. When I was still teaching I had to tell about a most memorable teacher once at a faculty meeting. I told my teacher colleagues about Ms Cohlmia calling us her “little poo poo doo doos,” and they died laughing because they secretly wanted to say that in their own classrooms to their own students but figured they wouldn’t quite be able to get away with it. I still can’t believe she got away with it.
All I ever said to some of the goofy kids that drove me nuts was, “You’re so silly!” They didn’t know what I really meant."
I would do several things differently if I could.
"First, I would have studied smarter, so I could have had more fun without worrying about grades. I could have had more time for the fun stuff if I’d been more disciplined and just studied first then put it away. I cared about grades, and I did fine, but I was unfocused. Second, I wish I had worked on my confidence and tried to reach out to others more. It would have helped me make more memories, and it would have helped me find my path. (One good thing I did do was start singing in choir as a sophomore bc of an invitation from Cyndi Barbour. Singing and music has truly enriched my life. I sang in the Riverbend Choir for about 6 or 7 years. And I formed a ladies trio in Georgetown that sang together about 4 years. We performed special music at small country churches around Williamson and Burnet Counties. We performed at the Poppy Fest once. We sang the National Anthem at a Round Rock Express game and at the WillCo Sherrif’s Posse Rodeo. I love singing harmony, and when I was practicing regularly, I got pretty good at it. I could sing harmony with songs on the radio just by listening. But, I’m not a professional level singer. Especially as I’ve gotten older, my voice is not strong anymore.) As much as I enjoyed music, I wish wish wish I’d taken some art classes in high school. I don't even remember who the art teacher was. I never even went in the art room. Painting and creating art is how I spend my time these days and it would’ve been great to have gotten an earlier start. I also wish I’d been able to play clarinet in band. I grew up going to HS football games bc my mom was a teacher at Reagan first then Anderson, and my dad was principal at LBJ. But my parents ended up divorcing when I was supposed to be entering band in 6th grade. My mom said she just couldn’t swing the cost of entering the band program. I didn’t argue bc at the time I just didn’t have it in me to create strife in the fam. I did march with the AHS band for two years as a Red Jacket and doing so was probably my personal high school highlight. I marched in that long, uber-conservative white skirt. Then I wore the shorter skirt (scandalous! LOL) with the fringe on the jacket. Loved that fringe!"
What could young people learn from our generation?
"We were/are scrappy (problem solvers). Over the course of my teaching career, my regular-ed students gradually expected me to do more for them (more explaining, more pre-teaching, more prepping materials). In contrast, my memory is that we just got our stuff done. I'd get a mimeographed sheet explaining a project assignment. The teacher would talk about it for 10 minutes. Then MAYBE remind us once a week of the deadline. It was completely separate from classroom learning. A few days before the deadline I'd feverishly search for the assignment sheet to remind me of what I was supposed to do. (Thank goodness for those assignment sheets.) When I taught, I gave project assignments that way for only about the first five years. Of course our generation didn’t have as many screens to stare at - only TVs and maybe arcade game screens. I like my gadgets just as much as the next person, but I still go outside without them from time to time. I think kids today should learn from us to go outside much more than they do now. I remember kids getting off my bus to play football or soccer at Reed Park after school. I substitute teach at Burnet High School sometimes. I subbed for a PE class where the students had to walk the parking lot for exercise as part of their class. Then I remembered how we used to walk the hike and bike trail along Lady Bird Lake - how the coaches would just let us loose. And we (mostly) just went back by the end of the period in time to get ready for the next class. Back then I only vaguely realized what a privilege it was to enjoy nature like that and get credit for PE at the same time."
NOW
After High School
"I immediately entered UT as a business major. College itself felt like a necessary chore, but I did have two amazing experiences around that time. First, I lived and worked for a whole summer between junior and senior year at British Telecom in London with my bestie from childhood who I’d moved away from after my parents divorce and reconnected with at UT. Before I left for London I contacted the adoption agency through which my mom and dad had adopted me as a 2-year old. I loved my parents, but they knew I wanted to meet my birth family. Gratefully, they did not thwart my search. I really did not expect a quick response, but while I was in London, my mom gave the agency my London address. I received a letter saying I needed to visit them when I got back. The second experience was, that during my senior year of college, I met a birth-mother and 3 biological siblings I’d never met before. I had a legit “Oprah moment.” I only share this bc in a graduating class as big as ours, I’m guessing there are others with stories about fractured families. I’m happy to report I’m still in touch with the siblings I met that day, (and I had a good relationship with both my adoptive parents until they died). After college, with a degree in English (not business), I ended up working as a paralegal for awhile. I got to travel some. Indianapolis. Miami. Phoenix. It was exciting, but I saw how hard the lawyers worked and how much stress they had and decided to skip a legal career in favor of “the family business” - teaching. (As if teaching middle school isn’t stressful?) I taught 7th grade, and sometimes 6th grade English for 25 years in Austin ISD and in Georgetown ISD. I loved it for most of that time. It gave me a youthful vibe - if not a youthful countenance. I have a spring in my step although also a few gray hairs from my time spent in the classroom. LOL. Any other teachers out there?
My mom died in 2000 and left me part of her family ranch near Bertram. I still live on the ranch today. I never married. Although once I got close, but it wasn’t meant to be. In 2004, I started painting in oils after accidentally finding an instructor at Hobby Lobby, of all places. I was a weekend painter for about 15 years. In 2019 I retired and started painting full time. I’m an active member of the Highland Arts Guild and Gallery in Marble Falls. I show paintings there and help do their social media. Covid thwarted my plans for living out of my car painting en plein air throughout the US. Grrr. But I manage a group on social media called Hill Country Outdoor Painters and we go out together at least once a month. I also show small unframed works on a site called Daily Paintworks, and larger works on my Fine Art website www.JudiBeauford.com. I especially like to paint landscapes with rivers. I’m happiest carrying my pack with my painting gear into the woods with friends or on my own. I still think like a teacher though, and I’ve just started teaching short drawing workshops at Buchanan Arts and Crafts Guild at Buchanan Dam. I want people to know that the most important thing in pursuing any passion is just to start! I got a late start with art, but if I can live long enough, I’m confident I have a chance to gain mastery over my brushes and my oil paint."
