In the first of these, at age 12 [1967, 7th grade, Dilley], my molestation had stopped but could recur at any point. I took steps that autumn to remove myself from his reach by siding with my father against my mother and demanding we take a job offer in Brazil. I was still wondering if I could have gotten pregnant. The dress I am wearing here represents a class shame I simply cannot write about.
The next one [9th grade, 1969], after our return from Brasil, was in Stoneburg where I experienced my first real freedom.
The third, at age 15 [10th grade, 1970, Stoneburg -- I made the dress I'm wearing], was when I was falling in love for the first time with a girl.
The fourth [age 16, junior year, 1971, Stoneburg] was after I'd started being mistreated by that first love (of course whom I chose turned out to be a sexual predator of children -- not long after this, she later raped my little brother).
In the fifth one [age 17, senior year, 1972, Stoneburg], I had just become lovers with someone new, five years my elder and very controlling.
These are hard memories and tough years. Recovery was a long way off and 2000 miles away.