Through the Years Survey

Stolen from Magenta 82SURVEYS. I did change a few things, namely the age groups because in this country at least, we’re in school until we’re 18.

The Baby Years
1. Did your parents ever choose a name for you and change it at the last minute? My mom was considering Fanchon as alternative girl’s name. It might have been more interesting to go through life as a Fanchon instead of of an Elizabeth, because I’ve never really thought my name suited me, but it’s probably for the best. If I’d been a boy I would have been Willis Ronald A***** III or possibly IV, after my dad.
2. What was the name that finally appeared on your birth certificate? Elizabeth St. John A*****
3. Were you christened? I was… at St. Paul’s Episcopal. My godmother was my mom’s college roommate Dale, aka "Boo", and my godfather was my dad’s good friend John, who was always known as Uncle Polack.
4. Did you have an elder sibling when you were born? Nope
5. When was your birthdate? February 26th. It was a Saturday that year. "Saturday’s child works hard for a living." I so got screwed by that poem… though I suppose it’s better than being "full of woe."
6. What is your astrological sign? Pisces
7. Were there any difficulties or problems with your health when you were born? No, I was thoroughly average and uneventful.
8. What’s your mothers name? Susan Valena Taylor A*****, but she’s never gone by Susan. Always Val.
9. What’s your fathers name? Willis Ronal A***** II or III (I can’t remember). He’s called Bill mostly and occasionally William by people who don’t know any better. His aunt called him Ronnie when he was a kid because she thought Willis was ‘too black.’
10. What kind of baby were you? Somewhat colicky at times, but generally happy. I did cry whenever anyone but Mommy or Daddy held me, apparently.
11. Did you cry or sleep through the night? I’m sure I had my moments, but my mom says I was an easy baby.
12. Do you have many photographs from this time? Quite a few, though my dad didn’t really step up the snapshots until after I was walking.
13. What colour hair did you have? Platinum blonde
14, What colour eyes? Blue-gray, but very dark compared to my hair and face. My mom says I looked like a baby bird, all big eyes.
15. How old were you when you first learnt to walk? About a year, I think.
16. What was your first word? My mom can’t remember, but she says my first phrase was "That guy." I’d go around pointing at things I wanted and saying "That guy!"

The Toddler Years (Aged 2-4)
17. When you first learnt to walk, did you grab anything in sight? Probably. It’s what babies do.
18. Did you ever overcome any serious illnesses? No, just the regular ones.
19. Did your mother ever take you to any special classes for your age group? I did something called Tumblebugs, which was gymnastics. And around 3 I started preschool. Before that I had a babysitter.
20. What were you learning at this time? The same things any child that age learns. Social skills, ABC’s, counting. Like I said, I also did gymnastics and I was probably 3 or 4 when I learned to ski. Apparently, I was also big on science at the time. I do remember a series of science books starring a little white mouse and I asked "Why?" all the time.
21. Were you a good or bad toddler? I was probably a bit obnoxious, but never in the way of being a discipline problem.
22. Were you ever naughty? More than likely.
23. Do you remember who your friends were? At home, Alex Grosby, the son of one of my dad’s friends. At school, I had a few friends. David Chiapetta and Amy Towne come to mind first because we spent time together outside of school and both of them graduated high school the same year I did, although David went to the school across town. Amy and I had classes together though.
24. What holidays/vacations did you take? I only really remember going to Florida to see my grandparents. We went to Disney on that trip, I think, but I’m not sure. I’ve been down there and back quite a few times.
25. Do you remember any particular toys/presents you got for your birthday and Christmases? My parents gave me a stuffed unicorn when I was about 2. It was big enough to ride on and I had it long enough that it got really beat to hell. And when I was 4 or so, someone gave me a purple parasol.
26. What pets did you have at this time? George was still around when I was born, then we had Axel and Tanya. All three of them were Dobermans. We also had a cat named Miney (as in Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Mo).
27. Did you believe in Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, or the Easter Bunny? At the time, I’m sure I did. I’m not sure when it wore off, but probably around the time I learned to read and saw that Mommy had the same handwriting as Santa.
28. What were your favourite food and drink? I can’t remember now. I was a very picky eater. I still am to a certain extent, at least about my vegetables. I have always liked my veggies to resemble veggies. If they’re cooked, they shouldn’t have anything on them except maybe butter and salt.
29. What were your favourite toys? I loved Barbies and horses, but I also loved cars and dinosaurs. 
30. Were you possessive of your mother? Oh yes. I was Mommy’s Girl.
31. Did you cry a lot? Not any more than your average kid that age.
32. Did you sleep well? Well enough that my mom doesn’t really remember any differently.
33. What were you afraid of? Spiders. Still am. I have a very clear memory of waking up in my crib with the blanket over my face and something on my face over the blanket. I suspect now that it was a grasshopper or spider. But they both freak me out a bit.

The School Years (Aged 5-11, First/primary/elementary School)
34. How old were you when you first started school? Five when I went to kindergarten.
35. Do you remember your first day? I remember getting lost and having to ask where my class was. My mom worked so I went to the YMCA’s morning program in the school cafeteria.
36. Did you cry? I probably cried when I couldn’t find my room.
37. Did you make friends easily? I honestly don’t remember from the first day, but I’ve never been all that quick to make friends. That said, I STILLtalk to some of the people I met in elementary school.
38. What were your favourite subjects? Art and reading… Always.
39. Who was your first best friend? Early on, Katy and Kim. Later I was also close to Anna, Lily, Megan, and Erica. Again, almost all of whom I still talk to.
40. What were your teachers names? Kindergarten – Mrs. DeGrazia; 1st – Mrs. Hall; 2nd – Mrs. White; 3rd – I was in a combined 3rd/4th class with Mrs. Ghoulia; 4th – Mrs. T… I can’t remember what that stood for, but something Russian sounding; 5th – Mrs. Vantine. And starting I think in 3rd or 4th grade we started switching classes for math so I had most of the upper level teachers for that at some point.
41. What sort of games did you used to play at break time/recess? It probably depended on what grade I was in at the time.
42. Were you always on your own or with friends? I was usually with friends at school and I would spend some time with them in the afternoons and on weekends as well.
43. What subjects were you bad at? None. I was in Academically Talented and Artistically Talented and took viola lessons.
44. So what kind of child were you at these ages? Quiet, serious, happy… pretty much the same way I am now, really.
45. What were your favourite toys? Barbies and horses, still, plus American Girl dolls.
46. What were your favourite colours? Purple, pink, and turquoise blue.
47. What were your favourite things to do outside school? Ride my bike with friends or play in local parks or in their yards. Lily and I were especially imaginative and she had an excellent garden at home, plus lots of art supplies since her parents are both professional artists.
48. What were your favourite food and drink? I’m sure at the time I would say pizza. I’ve always had a fondness for pink lemonade and cranberry juice.
49. Did you start to like any music around this time? I like the soundtracks from Disney movies and as I got a little bit older I started listening to more of what was on the radio.
50. What was the colour of your hair and eyes (did it change over time)? My hair got a bit darker blonde, but it stayed very light for quite a while. My eyes got a bit more gray and a bit more green.
51. Did you have siblings? No… have always been an only child.
52. New pets? We got Nina at some point when Axel was still around, but Tanya had died. We also got Liza, a new cat, when I was about 7.
53, Were you a bully? Just the opposite. In fifth grade I started getting bullied a bit.
54. Did you always get your own way? No one always gets their own way. I did often enough though.
55, Did you do any extracurricular activities? I played viola and took French lessons. Also ballet and jazz dance and horseback riding.
56. Did you love or hate school? I didn’t much care for it, no.
57. What was your favourite year/grade? Of those? Can’t say that I have one. Aside from the few girls who picked on me, fifth was probably the best.
58. Did you ever have chicken pox? Ugh… yes, in first or second grade. I still have scars.
59. What were you afraid of? Spiders and fire. I hated fire safety week. It always gave me nightmares.
60. Were you creative? Yep, still am.
61. What were your favourite movies? Disney anything. "The Little Mermaid" came out when I was in first grade, which was the first of the really popular ones.
62. Did you have birthday parties? Yeah
63. Did you have friends over for playtime and dinner often? And sleepovers and such.
64. Who were you closest too? Anna, Lily, and later Erica.

The Teenager and Puberty Years (Aged 12-18).
65. How old were you when you first noticed you were ‘changing?’ I started developing around 11.
66. Did you begin puberty early or later? I was about average. I wasn’t sporting a major rack or anything that young, just sort of filling out.
67. Were you looking forward to high/secondary school? I looked forward to middle school as a change and high school as a way to get the hell away from middle school.
68. How did you used to dress? In middle school I was a bit into the whole grunge look. In high school I just wore what I liked without worrying about anyone else.
69. Did you worry about how you looked? Absolutely. Who doesn’t at that age?
70. Who were your friends? Erica, Samantha, Stefanie, Liz Cassidy… then Anna, Jen, Joe, Brittany, Nestor, Brett, Tom, Katie, Jen, Erin and other people in band and guard… then Dave, Ben, Derek, Will, Erin, Kate, Colleen, Jess, Kari. It’s the kind of thing that varies.
71. Were you bullied? In middle school yes. The bullying that started in fifth grade got worse as the two girls acquired some back-up. And I was not popular then and very awkward. Plus middle school girl absolutely SUCK. They’re horrible people.
71. Were you popular? Not in middle school. I was reasonably popular in high school. At least, I was friends with a wider variety of people and not just a tiny clique in my own grade.
72. Did you enjoy school? Middle school, not at all. High school was okay.
73. What were your favourite subjects? Art and English.
74. What did you excel in? Most things, actually.
75. What were you bad at? I got a bit behind in math, but "behind" for me just meant I wasn’t in the really advanced class. I was still good at it. I did badly in chemistry, but I think that was the teacher more than me because once he retired halfway through the year and we got a new one, I started doing a lot better.
76. Who were your favourite teachers? Mr. Simonsen, Mr. Couture, Mrs. Quinlan, Mr. Franco.
77. Did you ever get into trouble? Once or twice for skipping in high school.
78. Girls: How old were you when you started your period? 13
79. Girls: How old were you when you started to wear a bra? 11
80. Did you ever try smoking between these ages? Yeah, but it never stuck.
81. Drugs? I didn’t actually experiment with pot until I was in college.
82. Alcohol? Once or twice, but I never got drunk.
83. Sex? I lost my virginity at 17 to my boyfriend.
84. Did you have many boyfriends? Only a few
85. Did you ever skip or runaway from school? Mostly during junior and senior year. And senior year it was usually because a teacher had sent me out for something, like picking up slides or getting coffee and sandwiches.
86. Backchat to your teachers? Only the ones who thought it was funny.
87. Did you belong to any particular groups or cliques? Ihung out with a lot of band members. That’s what happens when you practice 6 days a week.
88. What kind of teenager WERE you? Good. I didn’t get in tons of trouble or give my parents grief.
89. What was your favourite music? All kinds, but especially pop-punk.
90. Did you argue with your parents? Who doesn’t? I still argue with my parents.
91. What did you enjoy doing outside of school? Hanging out with my friends… typical teenager response.
92. Did you do well in tests or exams? Almost always and I almost never studied.
93. Were you a daydreamer or a top student? Both. It drove teachers nuts when they’d call on me, thinking to catch me out, and find out that I knew the right answer. I think I was in the top 20 in our graduating class.
95. Were you shy, confident or outgoing? I’ve always been a bit shy, though color guard cured me of some of that. You forget to be shy when you’re standing in front of thousands of people in spandex.
96. Did you stay out late? I think I only broke curfew once. My curfew was midnight.
97. Did you prefer to stay at home rather than go out? I was almost always out on weekends.
99. Did you have school dances/discos? Discos? Really? We had any number of dances.
100. Did you hate or love life at this time? I enjoyed it well enough at the time, at least once I got done with middle school.
101. Were they the best years of your life? Fuck no.

The Adult Years (Aged 18 +)
102. How old are you now? 28, going on 29
103. What is your education status? BA in English.
104. Do you have a job? Nope
105. A Boyfriend? My husband might object.
106. Do you have sex? Not as much as my husband would like, I’m sure. 
107. Do you smoke? Nope.
108. Do you drink alcohol? Not more than a couple sips of wine since getting pregnant.
109. What are your hobbies? Painting, reading, Postcrossing, sewing, writing.
110. Do you still live with your parents? I think I’d have to kill myself. Or them. I moved out with Alan 6 years ago and managed not to boomerang back, no matter how hard things got.
111. How do you think you have evolved over the years? I think I’m basically the same person, actually. I’ve just learned a lot.
112. What are your ambitions/life goals? Be an awesome mom to the little one on the way, love my husband and my kitties. I’d like to volunteer or work with animals and I’d like to get my children’s book published.

~Liz