When I was 17...

I decided to join in on the fun for this week.  17 was such a fun age, but I am glad I am older now.

1. When you were 17, tell us what kind of car you drove, where you worked, and what you were usually up to on the weekends.  I drove a 1982 Mercury Lynx that was nicknamed Papa Smurf.  The defrost didn't work so I had to use old rags to wipe the condensation off my car during the winter or drive with the windows slightly rolled down.  I didn't complain too much since it was free.  I did not work at that age.  I was lucky my parents provided all I needed during that time.  I was playing softball year round, and since my grades were good, my parents said I could wait until  I graduated to work.  I would occasionally work for my mom in her office for extra cash.  If I wasn't playing softball, the weekends were spent at a friend's house watching 80s movies or listening to music, or spent at the mall where we would eat dinner and then go to a movie.  We were a pretty close bunch, and we usually had fun just hanging out at someone's house.

2. Show us a picture of you at 17  I had to search Facebook to find this picture.  I am the one on the top right with the incredibly long and out of control hair.  These were all the seniors on the softball team that year.  I went to a pretty small high school.

3. What did you want to be when you grew up?  I had no clue what I wanted to be at that age.  I kept changing my mind. One day it was psychology, the next it was biology.  I am a science geek, and I eventually settled on biology.  

4. When you were 17, tell us the kind of boys that you dated. Did you have a type? Do you have a relationship you remember well? Do tell.  I dated a guy on and off my junior and senior year and he definitely wasn't a tough guy by any means.  Some people thought he was gay, but turns out he wasn't.  He ended up crushing me, and it took a few years to really enter another relationship.  He taught me a lot about myself, and I am grateful that through his hurtful ways, I realized I needed to take the time in college to focus on me and have fun.  I think I enjoyed college more by not worrying about guys or think about who I should date.  

5. When you were 17, tell us where you pictured your life 10 years from then. Did it turn out the way you expected it to?  5 years ago I was 27, and my life definitely wasn't what I pictured it would be.  I was living in a small, central Kansas town living with my boyfriend who didn't seem all that keen on ever getting married.  Actually he was getting ready to deploy and was gone for 18 months.  I was working in a pathology lab, but it definitely wasn't my dream job.  I figured by 27 I would have found the guy, had the kids, and I would be working at the best lab research job I could find.  Definitely didn't happen.