Marcia's Story - Appendix E
Working to keep state government running smoothly.
Growing up in Waltham, Massachusetts, I lived less than five miles from the iconic
Minuteman
statue on the Lexington Commons. I can't tell you how many times I saw the statue growing up. Gazing at it during school field trips, shopping in Lexington with my parents, and even on bike trips through the spectacularly beautiful New England countryside. However, as a kid, I only thought of the celebrated image in terms of historic bravery and selfless patriotism.
And that love of patriotism and the great American experience drew me to academically excel in the social sciences - history, government, economics, etc... Though I made good grades in math and the natural sciences, they just weren't really my thing. My brother, however, excelled in the hard sciences. David was three years older than me and had dreamed of becoming a veterinarian for as long as I could remember.
As he searched for the
perfect
college, he applied to almost every school that offered a combined undergraduate and graduate program. He calculated that he could earn his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in seven years, instead of the usual eight. His dream school was Cornell. But Cornell is an Ivy League school, and though he made very good grades throughout high school, he didn't make the magical
Top 10%,
so Cornell did not offer him an admittance.
Reviewing the dozen schools that did accept him, and after much study, he decided on the University of California at Davis. Now the irony of this choice was that no one in our family had ever been west of the Mississippi River. As a family, we always took the traditional family vacations. But for some reason, we always vacationed up and down the Atlantic coast. Thinking back, I don't believe we had actually ever crossed the Appalachian Mountains.
Freshman Year - Losing My Cherry
As David prepared for his new life as a college student, my parents decided to make his move out west into a family vacation. And just like the movie
Family Vacation,
my dad decided to make it a road trip. I can safely report that we didn't tie a dog to the rear bumper or strap a dead relative to the roof of the car. However, we did have a few humorous mishaps and unexpected delays. But what utterly amazed me was what a massive and unbelievably beautiful country we live in. This only strengthened my interest in the social sciences - American history and political science.
And I was absolutely blown away by the beauty of California. The east coast is nice too, and I appreciated the opportunity I had to grow up in New England, with its rich tradition as the birthplace of American democracy. But, upon graduation from high school, UC Davis was the only school I applied to, and I was ecstatic when I was accepted. My mom was sad that I was moving so far from home. And my dad was sad that he now had two of his children attending expensive
out of state
schools.
However, the good news was that David lived with two other veterinary students, and I just moved in with them, saving my dad the cost of a dorm or other boarding options. And an added benefit to me, one I wasn't expecting, was that David had two very handsome male roommates, Jake and Eli.
Now I was already eighteen and considered myself very attractive. However, I was still a virgin, and I planned on not just obtaining a great education while at UC Davis. I also planned on broadening my social life as well and putting an end to my lack of sexual intimacy.
I should say that my physical appearance was not the issue. I'm a tall, strawberry blonde with gorgeous
Elizabeth Taylor
violet eyes, and as the expression goes, I was
well developed.
That is to say, I had a lovely set of D-Cups that almost any girl would have been envious of. But they scared the hell out of me, as I always felt that boys only wanted to date me for one reason, well, maybe two reasons.
Wham-bang, thank you, Ma'am,
and I was afraid I wouldn't even get the
thank you.
I was a good student, and I wanted boys to appreciate me for my intellect as well as my physical appearance. But my older brother summed it up nicely when he told me, "Marcia, Men would appreciate women for their brains more, if it jiggled nicely when they walked."
So, a virgin, I remained, afraid of any boy who showed an interest in me. But out here in California, I was starting the next chapter of my life, and I shared this most intimate detail with my brother. Now in hindsight, I admit that was probably a mistake, for it wasn't two or three days before Jake and Eli both started hitting on me. Both of them were genuine hunks. And I felt terrible, as our rent house was a three bedroom, causing the two of them to have to move in together, so that I could have my own room. But getting intimate with either one of them worried me over what would happen if or when our relationship ended. I'd still be living in the same house with them, and there just wouldn't be anywhere to separate from them. Besides, they were both pretty cute, so I didn't want to pick one over the other.
To solve the dilemma, I started flirting with this cute guy in my freshman government class. His name was Brett, and I don't think he could believe his luck. Sitting next to him in class, I dropped my hand on his desk, and leaning over, asked, "Did you get any notes from Monday's class?"
The class was being taught in a huge lecture hall with about three hundred students. And even though I had been there on Monday, I hoped he would not have noticed me, as we hadn't been sitting anywhere near each other. And even if he had, he would have realized I was making a pass at him, and I was okay with that.
The professor had already started his lecture, but to quickly respond to my question, Brett flipped his notebook open to the previous meeting's notes to show me that he had them. I smiled as I covered his hand with mine and whispered, "Can I copy them?"