MC and KT

Taken during my Freshman year at MC - 1980

Also Freshman year - 1980

This has been a very strange day. I've been on my computer for much of the day but have not gone near Word. I have a feeling of trepidation I have not felt since I started writing my story last Monday. I've remembered so many things I had forgotten about growing up and, no, it's not a repressed memory thing, just a bad memory thing!

I believe we left off with my very memorable graduation from high school. I worked that summer at the grocery store where I had worked since I was 16. I worked at Warehouse Food Center and, believe me, I could write a blog just about my experiences working there.

I had been accepted to Mississippi College, a small, but very well respected Baptist college. MC was known for it's strong academic programs. Believe me, my ACT score barely got me in there and classes started around mid to late August. Prior to that there was a music camp for those interested in music education, church music or vocal performance. The very first day was the first round of auditions for “The Naturals”. This group sang popular tunes from the day set to choreography. The were well known and well respected throughout the South East. It was a tremendous honor to be chosen for this group and my stomach was tied in knots most of the week of music camp. I had the pipes, and I always thought I could dance, but I had never taken a dancing class in my life so this was very discouraging to me. Surely they wouldn't want Miss Moose up there singing and trying to not to stumble over her uncoordinated moose feet. But, amazingly, after a pretty grueling week of auditions, not only for The Naturals, but for the Concert Choir, we all raced downstairs in Aven Hall to see who had been chosen. My name was on the list of those chosen for the group which meant I was automatically a member of the Concert Choir. I'm not sure I had ever been more excited about anything thus far in my life!

Up until this point in my life I had never given my parents any reason not to trust me. I NEVER skipped school or even a class!.  Unless you count that one day my senior year I drove  . I worked nearly every day immediately after school usually until 8 or 9 PM during the week and until 11:00 PM or Midnight on Saturday and Sunday nights. When I first started working there “Blue Laws” prohibited the opening of all retail and grocery stores on Sundays. Some restaurants were open where people could go and have a nice Sunday lunch after church. There was also a convenience store here and there but, if they sold alcohol, that part of the cooler had a tarp over it. Not only could you not buy or drink the beer, you couldn't even look at it!

They would not allow me to live on campus. So I commuted for the first semester. Anyone who has been a commuter will understand why I always felt like someone on the outside looking in. You can't get fully involved in activities. At MC, we did not have sororities or fraternities. If The Naturals had a performance a few hours away from Jackson that meant me driving home on some pretty deserted roads sometimes as late as 2:00 AM.

Because of some ancient rule that I never really fully understood, MC, did not have sororities or fraternities. We did, however, have Social Tribes for the ladies am\nd Service Organizations for the men. In 1980, the biggest and best social tribe at MC was Kissimmee, followed closely by Nenemoosha, Laguna came in third and Swananoa rounded out the the four. There are many folks that will read this and might be offended. When I say “biggest and best” Kissimee had the largest number of members, the most campus leaders. All the tribes were full of outstanding young women or they would not have been at MC in the first place. Thirty years later all that has changed and I believe Swananoa is the biggest and best, then Laguna, etc. Nothing stays the same forever!

By the end of first semester my folks relented and allowed me to live on campus! I could eat in the dining hall with everyone, stay up late, play pranks on other girls in the dorm and all the cool things dorm life affords. Living on campus also allowed me to go through 2^nd semester rush which, unfortunately, was not nearly as much fun as rushing 1^st semester, But I didn't care! I was a KT and proud of it!!