What was your version of teenage rebellion?
Brought to you by the movie Georgia Rule.
My parents had it easy right up until I turned 15. Before then, all I did was go to school, come home, sleep, repeat. Then my dad decided I should get a job. Well, through work, I met a boy. At least, I thought he was. He turned out to be 22, something I didn't find out until we'd already been together for two weeks and he'd taken my virginity. Anyway, I'd never been in a relationship before so I really went overboard with this guy. The way my work schedule was set up, I was headed there right after school and then working right up until 1 a.m. I should have come home right after work, but of course, I was spending that time with my boyfriend. And the thing is, we never really did anything except go to the park and make-out in my car. I was so blind, I didn't think anything of it. But in the two months that we were together, we never went out to dinner, the movies, mall - nothing.
There were times when I would be out until 3 a.m. in the morning to come home to my dad asleep on the couch. And that's the thing. Nothing was ever said to me. I wonder if my dad had been stricter with me at that time, if it would have made a difference. And because nothing was ever said to me, I can't quite pinpoint the exact time it all went to shit. But it did have to do with my boyfriend. I think I was told to stop seeing him, but I honestly don't remember. All I know is, I was not happy with being told what to do. What can I say? My fifteen year old self thought she was in love. I decided to move in with my grandma who lived just ten minutes away, thinking that she'd be more lenient.
Wrong. She wasn't. I only made it two weeks with her before I was ready to live on the street. My dad finally grew a backbone, called my boyfriend, told him he'd charge him with statutory rape if he ever came near me again, and called my job and told them I was quitting. I was furious, but defeated. My mom drove down from Ohio and picked me up to take me to live with her. I never did another seriously rebellious thing again, except for the one time I skipped school my junior year.
Well, I should say I never did anything seriously rebellious again up until age eighteen. Once I became an adult and was out from under my parent's thumb, I dropped out of college, moved in with a boyfriend, and got married to him within a year. And here I am now.