CHANTILLY: CLASS OF 98 REUNION

“Chantilly Lace and a pretty face with a pony tail hanging down...”…..”Gooo Chargers Go!”…….”We Are!!!"..."98!!!”……Did you ever know that I used to wish I was a cheerleader in High School? Even though I absolutely LOVED playing Field Hockey & Softball all 4 years I secretly wanted to be on the squad. All of the cheerleaders were pretty, outgoing, great dancers, invited to all the “cool parties” & dated the “cool (yet some cocky) guys”…..Crazy huh? Looking back though I’m glad I stuck to athletics. And I’m glad I wasn’t part of the “cool crowd” bc I was able to make & keep friendships with EVERY crowd. I think I was kinda in the middle…I never considered myself a dork yet I never got nominated for any homecoming or prom court or any yearbook superlative. Somehow I just fit in between all of the labels. I think that was a good thing. I tried to be the friendliest person I could….I had friends in my Art class, friends in my Math class, friends in my Cosmetology class & friends on the field in the fall & on the field in the spring…..As far as my studies I was a struggler. I worked my butt off in school but had a really hard time absorbing information; thank god I always did my homework & always did great on my projects. I truly sucked at taking tests and giving any sort of verbal speech. I used to freak out so much that I would try to think of a good reason to get out of class…But the only time I skipped was on Senior Skip day, and even then I was scared! I think Breanne Hyland talked me into skipping with her that year. I was so worried Id get caught & get kicked off the Field Hockey team or Softball team….Some people called me a goody goody…But was I? Not so much…Did you know that I had BJ DeSimone change my grades on my report card one year bc I had D in one of my classes? Yah…I did that…Of course my parents found out. My Dad was (and still is) a Math teacher. He knew something looked fishy right off the bat. I got into trouble a few times bc I either lied or hid something from my parents that had to do with school. I always wanted them to think I was doing well…even though they offered there help ALL THE TIME. I did take it every now and then but I wanted to show them I could do it myself…oh the memories of sitting with mom & dad at the dining room table working on school stuff…. Unfortunately sometimes it was almost too late and then I only had a lil bit of time to fix things… Luckily each semester & each school year everything worked out and I ended up getting A’s, B’s & C’s…but yah, it definitely didn’t come easy for me........After reminiscing over the last few weeks as my 10 year High School reunion approached me the random thoughts entered my head…..ok REALLY random thoughts……here it goes: Friday night basketball games-taking over the bleachers decked out in Purple, Grey & White-stomping & yelling like crazy & holding up “D” “Fence” signs (of course ignoring the “parent section”), BLBLBLBLBLBLBLBLBLBLBLBL, Miss NGB 98 aka Natalie Brown used to hate me bc the 1st day I met her I was wearing baby blue surfer shorts-NOT bathing suit bottoms Nat, my first homecoming date was with Mike Souza-my 7th & 8th grade crush-my dream had come true, Mike Raedy told me to throw up the “shocker” when I walked across the graduation stage-little did I know what it meant at the time, I wanted to be cool so I did it-thanks Mike!, the saying ”That is so BEAST”…(this was wayyy before I became “Baby Beast” of course), throwing up the big “W” for “Whatever!!!” at Pam Brock after a big fight in the gym lobby, Oh how I used to drool over Dee King-we were supposed to go out one night but he never showed up at my house-the next day I found out he went to a party with Shauna McCann instead-what a heart breaker he was-haha, I broke my wrist my Senior year of High School by colliding with another teammate in the outfield-secretly I was glad this happened-my shyness & my doubts of a good ball player started to kick in even more that year- I dreaded getting up to bat or catching a fly ball-plus there was no comparison of my skills to the skills of my best friend’s Pam Brock & Adrianna Baggetta-so I sat on the bench the rest of the season with no worry in the world, Carly Hassinger and I used to be attached at the hip until one day she caught a ride with an upper classman to school-I don’t remember what happened exactly but my Mom tells me I came home crying because we got into a fight-we haven’t talked face to face since then, Apparently I had a twin on the Field Hockey Field…her name? Ashley Catlett-somehow even our parents couldn’t tell us apart at times, Emily Conway & I used to share clothes-our 2 favorite shirts were the pink & purple plaid one & the navy blue one w/ baby blue flowers on it-I seriously think we wore them more then anything else in our closets, I had a special bond w/ Mike Wrobel-we shared each other’s favorite #...6 DUH….My nickname in Field Hockey was “mighty might”-even though I played softball all my life I fell in love with this game-oh how I miss it-and of course I miss Mr. Chapman our coach (whom I adored)-who could forget our fans that came out holding oversized poster boards with our names & jersey numbers on them-Andy Thorpe, Sean Berry & Joe Dooley were a few of them, after the final time (in High School of course) that Billy Welch and I broke up I cut off all my hair on my own in my parents bathroom-the next day I was given the not so nice nickname “Johnny Vaughan” by Mr. Welch-still to this day it haunts me-ha-ha, 2 words-Surfer Boy, miss fabulous Niki Carter-did you know I used to kinda sorta “hate” you? Billy liked you while we were “going out”…I was sooo jealous of you-and now we are good friends-I wonder if you ever knew this?-my 1st drinking experience was a bit late compared to my CHS classmates-I’ll set the scene for you-of course there was a small gathering at BJ DeSimone’s house…If I recall correctly it was myself, Natalie Brown, Katie Agnew, BJ, Billy, Mike Hoke, Andy Schuh…the gang….Billy was supposed to bring me to my Aunt & Uncle’s house that night by curfew since my family was leaving for a trip the next morning-Billy & BJ told me that they wouldn’t give me a ride unless I drank! How mean! HA! They forced me to drink beer & liquor-of course I had a blast that night…we now all remember the famous line I slurrrrrrrrrred in the car on the way out to Springfield…”I can hear you, but I can’t see you”, awe poor Andy Schuh-Mike Hoke would always harass him in the Senior lockers by getting everyone to clap really loud & chant “Andy”, “Andy”, “Andy”…OR “Andy’s getting laiddddd!”-as I said…poor Andy, Friday night Football games…goodness I had blast at these! I never missed one game-I had to be there-no matter how cold, snowy or rainy it was (again, of course ignoring the “parent section”), Thank you Paul Oliveros for nicknaming my sweet Oldsmobile the “Toodles Mobile”, he has always said that it had Mmmm Bop, the Hanson boys & bubbles coming out of it, …. Over all Id have to say I had a pretty amazing High School experience…I absolutely loved Chantilly, I left with some wonderful memories over those fabulous four years-some were a blur & seemed so silly but some stuck with me as you can see here…..Last but not least…. To my girls Pam Brock, Adrianna Baggetta, Tiffany Sharp & Emily Conway… through it all…thick & thin…some of us have fallen off “the bunch” from time to time but Bananas really do stick together when it truly comes down to it.