I was one of those shy girls who found companionship in her books. There were no Saturday night dates since I wasn’t allowed to date until I was 16 nor endless gabbing on the phone with girlfriends since I was intimidated by most of them.

I was the textbook definition of ‘introvert’. My idea of fun was reading the entire 26 volume Funk and Wagnall’s encyclopedia that my mother bought from a door to door salesman so that all of her ten children would have a bona fide reference that they could use to do their homework. I believe I was the only one who didn’t treat it like it was kryptonite.

Making matters worse was the fact that our family was extremely religious, so that meant most of our ‘free’ time was spent behind the door of the unfinished building that would be simply mistaken as just that had it not been for the rather looming cross sticking out of the ground right in front of the portable sign on wheels that sometimes bore letters that spelled the name of our church.

I was somehow drafted into taking piano classes so that I could be backup for the church pianist because I made the mistake of wondering out loud one day how wonderful it would be to play Pachelbel Canon in D since that was one of my favorite classics. It didn’t take long to figure out my talent lie mostly with listening than actually generating the sounds. But I was dutiful and I did as I was told even though I thought the money would be better spent on vinyl siding.

I got my first job at the age of twelve. I worked for an elderly woman who paid me two dollars every time I showed up….usually right after school. I would run errands and dust her furniture because she was confined to a wheelchair. She was a sweet woman…she always had great advice and I think she just wanted the company more than a lemony fresh shine on her tabletop.

The next year, I moved on to more serious employment at the local El Burrito restaurant because from that point on, I was responsible for buying my own clothing and toiletries. I loved the sense of independence that gave me when it came to shopping sprees (I was now making $1.35 an hour, thank you very much!) and indulging in the deliciousness of a sneaky pete’s hotdog and pistachio almond ice cream at baskin robbins.

I would spend untold hours reading or playing with the next door neighbors outside as long as I came in before the street lights came on. My younger brother and I would make a day of it and catch the bus downtown to catch a Bruce Lee marathon on the weekends. With ten kids….would we really be missed? That was my period of rebellion since we weren’t allowed to go to movies in my house….well, technically….we weren’t IN the house when we did it….right?

The rest of my social life centered around school. I was definitely more into the books than boys. The only clubs I thought about started with Spanish, Debate and Honors. I loved horror movies, Chemistry, Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra. While I had friends, who were equally, if not more studious than I……I was my best friend. I enjoyed my own company and no one understood me better than I did.

It may seem like a sad existence to outsiders looking in, but I think it prepared me to be ok with being alone and making the best of whatever situation I have. I’m not afraid of the dark. I feel brave, secure and courageous. I’m glad that I learned to be my own best company at such a young age…I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.