My life at Dike School from 1969 to 1980. By: Christina Marie Mesenbrink It all started when we Moved from Cedar Falls to Dike in 1969. It was bad enough to be a new kid but in the middle of the school year. That was in 5th grade and being the new kid I got beaten up before and after school up to 7th grade. From 7th grade through 12th grade I still got beaten up and locked in my locker and any other locker in school. They also put stuff in my lockers and did stuff to my locker which would ruin my stuff. They even put in my locker a light candle which got my in big trouble because my locker was right across from the office. I got 1 1/2month detention for the little stunt which meant I had to come 1 hour before school and stay 2 hours after school mon-fri and on sat I had to help out with school activists. It didn't make a differents that I didn't do it or not, no one cared that I was not guilty. No one stood up for me and told them that I was in class on the other side of the school and my locker. There was one time in 9th grade I was invited to a popular kids house for a party. Which I found out later that one kid like me(they called Freaks)got invited to one of their parties so a lot of us kid get invited in a school year. This time it's was my turn and I couldn't wait till the saturday of the party. So that saturday finally gets here and I have my mom drive my out to the party and right off the bat I know something was not right. But I let it go and tell my mom it OK and I will call her when I'm ready too go home and she can come and get me. I should have turned around and walked back to the car and went home with mom. I walked up to the house and before I can ring the door bell the door opens up. Walking inside I see all the other popular kids from my class inside already having a great time not nothing they were just waiting for me to get there. Being very happy it doesn't click that there were no other kids like me there and they have very special plans for me that day. It's too late the door had closed and I had no escape until they let me out because the party has already started and the guest of honor has arived so the games could begin. There were lots of different games begining played that saturday but the favorite game was to get a kid(pawn,freak)like ME into a closet with a popular kid(football player and or cheerleader, ect ..)for some tongue action or even go farther like getting there shirt off and or pants or both. Then the popular kid would say something like boy you look nice that would let all the other kids know it was time to rush over and throwing open the door while taking lots of pictures of them while laughing and calling them names. Over the next few days they would make lots of copies for the whole school to have then they would write something sick on them before handing them out to all the popular kids from the lower to the upper classes. So all of them can laugh at us and treat us worst then usual not letting us know why this is happening and never stopping either. Here it was my turn to go through this and being a new kid was an extra bonus to this game. I can't remember how the football player was but he was the only one how didn't go through with this game, he took me to were they were dancing and we danced. He talked to me and made me feel like I really belonged at dike school and was part of his class which was short lived after he moved away and the torment got worst. It seemed like it lasted for hours but ended for me after 1 hours because I was told I was not welcome anymore that was because the pawn(ME)wasn't treated like shit or made fun of. So I call me mom and she came and got me and I waited outside by the end of the drive for her, she never ask me about the party but she could see I had been crying and I had been hurt. To the day my MOM dead I never told her about what had happened at that party and why I never got to go to any others like it. I never ever told anyone that I ever went to or even I was invitied to one of there parties The next week at school I found out through the grapevine that someone was the butt of their jokes at that saturdays party which was meant for me and the pictures didn't turn out. That is why they would never say how it was. It got me thinking of all the others that has gone before me and all the others that will follow me until we graduate for high school. After that I totally stayed away from all my classmates except 5 or 6 I could trust that would be there for each other.. I did what I had too to get enough credits to get out of Dike high school and graduate which I did do.. I even tried out for basketball, band, chorus, volleyball, softball, tennis, dance which I sucked at or wasn't every good at. I tried out for Cheerleading and I didn't make the team even through when I was little I was on the team as a little cheerleader in training. And because I didn't use any tumbling tricks which I was doing since I was 6 years old. The only thing I loved was and is good at is acrobatics which I got really good at even got to show everyone in gym class. The next foundest moment at Dike High School was are Junior-Senior Prom. It was held at UNI in one of there building which I can't remember which one it was. I decided to go because I was told it was a BLAST.I didn't have a date so my parents drove me there. My dress is the one my mom made me so I can have a nice dress for gradutation day. Dad bought my orchid flower for me and very carefully pinned it to the dress. Mom was so happy and pround of me for going by myself so she took some pictures of this happy day.I arrived there and I saw everyone else showing up in limo's and with dates the young men in tuxedos and the young ladies in dress the cost hundreds of dollars. I could have told my parents lets just go home and they would have done it without asking me WHY!I came this far so I got to of the car and walked up to the hall, I turned around to see to my parents still waiting there for me until I walked inside then I could see and here them going by and honking. Every one got a little book for your classmates to sign and for you to put stuff done that you wanted to remember later. Everytime I tried to get my signed they would just walk away and tell everyone I was coming there way so no one would or did sign my book(It's stiil empty to this day!).Then someone noticed that the dress I was wearing was homemade and would have cost about $20.00!That was when the teasing and laughter started at that same time a person I throught was my friend was coming in. She had got married before the prom and got very drunk. She walked up to me and grabbed the rose out of my hand that everyone got at the door Crushing it and stomping into the floor then taking hers she got cramming it into my face and up my nose. Then grabbing my punch she throw it in my face and down the front of my dress. Then everyone started laughing again so I ran out found a phone and called home.20 minutes later my parents pulled up and I ran over a got in. I could still hear the laughter from inside while I was waiting for my ride home no one not even a student or teacher or an adult came outside to check on me to see if I got home OK or anything else no one even cared to make sure I was OK and at home safe! After getting in my parents never asked what happened to me but they could see scratches all over my face also a black eye and I was really hurt by it. I never talked about it ever not to my parents or to nobody else un tell NOW! Once we got home and under better light they could see all that had happened to me and my dress my mom worked every hard to make my gradutation evey special for me. After bringing done my dress to see if mom could make it better, she every carefully cleaned it so it look like new for gradutation the next day or two. The whole time my mom was cleaning my dress I could hear her CRYING and SAYING WHY WOULD SOMEONE DO THIS TO SOMEONE ELSE and THEN LAUGHT ABOUT IT AND WHERE WERE THE ADULTS WHEN THIS WAS GOING ON. In may 1980 I gradutated from Dike High School with more then enough credits and got a grant to go to Kirkwood Commm. College that August in 1980,so I took it and went. All I had was to get through the summer in Dike. I worked a lot of different jobs to make a little extra money, went to the swimming pool a lot. I just tried to forget all the very bad and bad time in high school and hung on to all the very good and good times very close to my heart.Then August came and I got the HELL out of town and never looked back and only came back too see my parents alway moving forward and making my life better each moment in my life by believing in myself and what is in my heart, soul and mind which is true and also KNOWING that my PARENTS are and always will be PROUD of me for being how I'm and not letting others try to change me. In college I had lots of cool friend how like me for just being me and not because they wanted something from me or to uses me in a mean joke. I even had some boy friends that I dated how like to spend time with me just because they liked me and not to get something out of me or to USE ME.I was safe and out of harms way being in college which I never got in high school because my class mates were always trying to hurt or use me. I was also voted by my class for the honor of being the biggest loser for my class and in life it self.. Yes I have thought of taking revenge of my classmates while I was still in school and after I got out of school. But why should I drop down to there level of thinking and acting. I am better then them because I have moved forward in my life and not letting anyone stop me from being me awesome and what ever I want to be..
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