My hometown Ludwigsburg often features on my blog; you have seen the parks, the palace, the Christmas market, the fields surrounding the town, and of course my own place.
So far, though, you have not seen my old school.
On Saturday, I went back there. This was an official event organised by the school itself. Everybody they could find was invited - everybody who either finished school 25 years ago or attended the school during the years leading up to the finishing class of 1987 (I left before that, in 1984 at the age of 16). Now, it is never easy to find people from the past, and it is particularly difficult with women who, more often than not, have changed their surname with marriage. In my case, I have changed three times (married twice, divorced once and taken my maiden name back for several years until my second marriage), but since I happen to come across some of my former school mates at the gym every now and then, we were already in touch and so I was sent an invitation as well.
Going back to my old school was not so unusual for me; a branch of our town's library is in the same building, and so I have been there many times since leaving school. But, unlike yesterday, I have not been back inside any of the old class rooms, and certainly not with so many people from my class and others from the same year!
It was great seeing them all; some I did miss, some others I must admit I wasn't sorry about them not being there. It would have been nice to meet some more of our old teachers; only two of them (neither of them my favourites) made it to the reunion.
We shared old and new stories, some had brought old photo albums (which made for much mirth all around - did we really wear our hair like that, and go out in those outfits?!), there was coffee and soft drinks and snacks, and of course the entire event started off with some officials making speeches and showing us round the old familiar place.
A group picture was taken out in the yard, where every year we had to assemble for the school photographer to take our class photo. I don't have that new picture yet, but I'll show you what my school looks like:
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| Approaching the school, this part of the ground floor is the library, serving both the school and the public. |
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| Looking across the yard, the building to the left is the school I went to after I left that other school, and the older building to the right is where I went to elementary school. |
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| Coming up towards the main front doors of the school. Of course, it only looks so deserted because it was a Saturday. |
It was built in the 1970s (as if you needed telling) and was state-of-the-art back then. We were told that, in a few years (2016 is the current estimate), the entire complex will be torn down and rebuilt according to modern standards. A lot has changed since the 1970s, mainly in terms of how energy is used in modern buildings to keep them warm or cool, and it would cost more to adapt the current building than to erect a new one.
You are probably wondering by now what my post has, so far, to do with Monica's post.
We are getting to that now: I am going to show you some of the various hair styles and colours I used to wear in the 1980s - not to mention my specs! There were some rather wild hairdos (think short, red and spiky) before that time, but only a few photos exist of me from those days, and none of them in digital format. Still, I hope you will find my little excursion into the past entertaining enough:
From top left to bottom right: 20 years old, 1988, when I finished Librarian School; same year, but a more cheerful picture; aged 19, looking daft; me at 17, when for a short time I thought I could be a blonde; 19 again and back to red Henna.
Since that time, I have seen a bit more sense and know that my hair is not meant to be long - it is far too thin for anything more than chin-length. And while for most of the 1980s I never wore my natural colour, I stopped the colouring at some stage, and it turned its mousy brown again. These days, I'd be almost entirely grey/white, were it not for the help of some cheap chemicals regularly applied. I keep saying that I'll stop it at 50 - but who knows what I'll really do in six years' time!
Oh, how fun seeing your old classmates! Especially looking at the old photos, and your pics are too cute! :-)
ReplyDelete~Dorothy
It was great fun indeed, Dorothy!
DeleteNice to see some old pictures of you, too. Glasses even more than haircuts are a giveaway as to when photos were taken, aren't they. The late 70s was the worst, for me... The glasses I wore then covered half my face, they were awful. It was a fashion I hope never comes back! Ever since I was able to get thinner metal frames I've never wanted to go back to plastic ones - I just got enough of them back in those days. You look good in those green ones though... As for the hair, it's one thing to wear it long when one is around 20, but it takes really good hair quality to be able to still wear it long after 40, and still look "neat".
ReplyDeleteThose large glasses have come back into fashion a few years ago, I'm afraid - but mainly in the shape of sunglasses.
DeleteFor the kind of glasses I need, thin metal frames are a bit unpractical, therefore I am wearing plastic frames again these days.
I've never thought of the long hair / short hair related to age, but you are right; it is much harder to look neat with long hair than with short.
Dear Meike,
ReplyDeleteHAHA, you are so brave showing your hairdos from over the years. If I did that, my big frizzy hair would completely cover the screen!
I kind of like the short blonde hair-do with bangs. And I am with you on the hair-coloring. I said the same thing myself when I turned 50, but I'm still coloring!
Dear Kay, I'd love to see your screen-covering hairdos from the past :-D
DeleteAll i can say is grey hair rules!!! I gave up colouring when the bill for a cut and colour exceeded $300. Now i am silvery as is dictated by the family genetics.
ReplyDeleteSilvery sounds very elegant! Gosh - $300 seems way over the top! I usually pay somewhere around 65 or 70 Euros at my hairdresser's for cut and colour, and in between, I sometimes do the colouring myself at home.
DeleteI do like the red bob, and I also like Monica's blog! :D
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jenny!
DeleteReunions can be such fun, i'm glad you enjoyed yours. Your picture at 17, you look ready to conquer the world as only 17 can look, very lovely.
ReplyDeleteDuring my teens and well into my twenties, I was quite the complex-ridden bundle of insecurities. I disliked practically everything about my appearance and until I was about 18, I was convinced that no boy would ever find me attractive. Well, things changed!
DeleteWhen I was a young 'whipper-snapper' I always said I'd have a face lift when I was 55! 55 came and went as did 65 and 75 and still living with the same face, albeit with the addition of road-map wrinkles. I believe it gives me character. Re. the glasses...I also wore the huge round ones in the 80s and my 'boss' once said he employed two women and one owl in the office.
ReplyDeleteYour former boss must have had an interesting sense of humour :-)
DeleteOh my! totally forgot to say how much I like your photos. I admire your changing hair style and color and find them all attractive. I know what you mean about thin hair not lending itself to long styles and certainly agree that women over 40 need to be careful about long hair styles. My daughter, "the-greatest-legal-mind-of-our-time," as I refer to her, has hair down to her waist and wears it twisted up, which looks very spiffy in court. I am letting my hair grow too and still color it at 78.
ReplyDeleteOh, long hair is just so much more versatile, isn't it! I always think it's a shame that so many women with long hair do nothing but wear it in a pony tail day in, day out.
DeleteThank you for saying that about my photos!
So fun to see these pictures of you in these ages. Next year my high school class is having its 50th reunion which seems slightly unreal to me, but I'm eager to attend...There are only about five classmates that I still keep up with at all. My hair is slow to turn gray and is only barely beginning now, so I have not had to deal with having it colored and maybe by the time it is white I won't care! I have my high school yearbook and can't believe how we looked from 1959-1963! But I also have my mother's yearbook. She graduated in 1932 and the hairstyles are astonishing.
ReplyDeleteDo they have yearbooks in Germany?
There were no yearbooks in any of the schools I went to, Kristi, but I know that students in their very last year often make a special magazine full of funny stories and pictures to commemorate their time at school.
DeleteYour 50th reunion is certainly going to be great!
What an interesting post Meike. As far as school reunions are concerned I've never been to one. I am always fascinated by photos of people when they were a different age from when I knew them. You are unmistakeable. On the subject of hair I would venture to suggest than men generally prefer long hair on women and I am no exception. However the photo of you at 17 with short hair (and knowing you with short hair now) makes you look very sophisticated and I agree with Messymimi that you look as though you could go out and conquer the world.
ReplyDeleteLong hair is a wonderful asset to a woman, but it needs to be GOOD hair, not as thin and sparse as mine.
DeleteWhen that 17-year-old picture was taken, I must have felt particularly good and at ease with myself; usually, I hated my small eyes, big teeth, ugly figure and less than impressive hair.
LOVE these photos! I think my favorite is the second one. Kind of a 'here I come world!'
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nan! I remember that evening. We had friends over at our mini-apartment at Librarian School, and lots of fun was had by all.
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