Jackie+Siddle+Interview

Lindsey: So, what year did you graduate? Erin: What activities were you involved in at school? Lindsey: You can be general. Lindsey: So you said you were in band. How did the marching band compare to today’s marching band? Lindsey: Kay Erin: Were you involved in any musicals or Little Theater productions? Lindsey: What were some of your favorite things to do outside of school? Lindsey: Yeah, I know how that goes. Erin: What were some fun places to hang out outside of school? Erin: yeah, not much Erin: Yeah, today a lot of kids go to the movies, was that popular back then? Lindsey: Which sports games did you like to go to? Erin: Did you play any sports for West? Erin: Who were your favorite teachers or classes? Lindsey: How do you compare the new campus to the old campus? Lindsey: Yeah, a lot more character. Erin: What were the highlights of Hobo Day when you were in high school? Lindsey: What is that? Lindsey: So you had all the different days to dress up? All the themes? Lindsey: What did you think of Prom and all the other dances? Did you go to them? Lindsey: Yeah, that’s true, I know how that goes. Erin: Did you participate in Donkey Basketball? Lindsey: How do you compare your freshman year starting out, to your senior year? What were some changes? Erin: what was your most challenging year in high school? Lindsey: Yeah we all feel junior year is really really stressful now. So we’re kind of looking forward to senior year. Erin: Because of the testing and stuff. Lindsey: Ohhhhh Lindsey: What did you do after you graduated? Lindsey: If you could go back and give advice to your high school self, what would it be? Erin: Do you miss being in high school? Lindsey: what was one of your more embarrassing or amusing moments in high school? Lindsey: I think its both. Erin: Do you still keep in touch with any teachers or friends from high school? Lindsey: Yeah I noticed lately there’s a lot of the 1999-2000 generation teaching now. Lindsey: Its really cool.
 * Jackie**: 1999.
 * Jackie**: Band. I did a lot of band. Do you want specifics or can I be general?
 * Jackie**: Okay, and I did some French Club and Honors Society and I think that’s it.
 * Jackie**: It was smaller and we did a lot more things by ourselves. We didn’t have many instructors back then. We didn’t have drumline instructors and colorgaurd instructors and all that stuff.
 * Jackie**: No Little Theater, but I was a band geek obviously, so all the pit stuff, you know, but that’s it.
 * Jackie**: Outside of school, lets see. I obviously hung out with friends, I practiced yoga a lot, I liked to go bike riding, but other than that I was pretty busy with band.
 * Jackie**: Fun places. Well, there were people’s houses. I mean, its Belleville.
 * Jackie**: So you had places like parks, there’s always so many great parks around here, including Forrest Park, but other than that, you had things like the youth center, but they never really were any good…
 * Jackie**: Oh, the drive-in definitely. The Skyview, definitely, I forgot about that. But other than that, I mean, for when maybe even freshman year there was Funspot, but when you start getting a little older, it gets a little lame, so you stop going.
 * Jackie**: I loved to go to basketball games, you know, make fun of the cheerleaders and dance team.
 * Jackie**: I did basketball and track, but only my freshman year and then…band.
 * Jakcie**: Well, obviously Dr. Birkner was my favorite, but I loved Madame Shemlich, who was my French teacher and Mr. Stover, he was also one of the French teachers and Mr. Mertens was my math teacher at that time, so, yeah.
 * Jackie**: Not cool. Old campus: so much better. I mean, its high tech, you can’t get better than all the nice things and the roof not falling down around you. So its a little more safe and healthy probably, but I guess I’m old school, literally.
 * Jackie**: Yeah
 * Jackie**: Alright so, we had all things we do now; the dressing up, but we had the parade, which you guys don’t have anymore, which is kind of sad. The football game. I think we had a dance my senior year; I think that’s when they started with the dance, but that‘s all I can remember. Oh no! That’s when they had the Gong Show.
 * Jackie**: It was like a talent show, and they had a panel of teachers and they had the gong. So it was a talent show that the student body would basically “boo” you and then the teachers would “gong” you off the stage.
 * Jackie**: Oh yeah, a different theme every day, just like you guys do now, and then the last day was Hobo Day when you were supposed to dress up like a Hobo.
 * Jackie**: I went to them. Ahh, the cafeteria, you know. Kind of boring. After prom was fun usually, but the dances were nothing special because they were in the cafeteria.
 * Jackie**: I did not. I went to it, but I can’t remember if the band played or not. I can’t remember or not. I did go to it, but I did not participate.
 * Jackie**: I guess I knew what I wanted to do in my senior year. In my freshman year, it was still kind of up in the air. I loved school, I knew that I wanted to be a teacher, but I hadn’t decided what exactly that meant, but by my senior year I knew what specifics Io wanted, so that was nice.
 * Jackie**: My senior year definitely, only because of college auditions. I t was so stressful, and I didn’t think I would cut it. And that was very stressful.
 * Jackie**: Well, I don’t know. It was the other way around for me. Testing wasn’t like that. Idon’t know, they didn’t make a big deal of all the testing in your junior year. Obviously you had the ACT stuff, but that was all your senior year.
 * Jackie**: At least it was for me. I don’t know if I was slacking or not, but, you know they did all that your senior year. All the prep stuff was you junior year, but everything, college auditions, testing, that was all senior year. Thankfully though, all my classes were super easy because I had all my credits, so I got to take like, all music classes. See now they have the rules. You can’t do that anymore, but I guess I squeaked under.
 * Jackie**: College. I went to college, yep.
 * Jackie**: Practice. More practice. I probably would have studied a little bit more. Only because, I mean I had great grades, but there were things where you wonder, well gee, if I would have actually worked hard, because I feel like I just kind of did it, and I got good grades, and I was like okay I got good grades, I guess I don’t have to work any harder. So I always wonder if I would have worked harder, what would have happened.
 * Jackie**: YEAH! I mean its care free land. You have somebody who gives you food and you know where to go everyday and its easy. And then you leave and you’re like Yay I’m done! But then you go wait, I want to go back! But once you’re gone, you can’t go back. Its kind of sad.
 * Jackie**: We used to play our solos for the band and I used to have this horrible habit of profanity when I messed up. And so I was playing a marimba solo in front of symphonic band and I mess up and the words start flying in front of everyone. And of course Doc says, “you know you might not want to do that when you perform”. So it was a habit that I had to practice to get over, so that was interesting to do that in front of everybody. I don’t know if that would be embarrassing or amusing, but that’s the only thing I can think of off the top of my head.
 * Jackie**: Very much so. I feel very lucky to be able to see a lot of my teachers and a lot of my friends. Obviously Facebook helps a lot, but you know, I went to college with a lot of West people, so that helped and then, being a musician, I always came back here, so I got to see a lot of teachers and then of course a lot of the kids I went to school with came back and started teaching here so that’s always fun to see who came back and really came back.
 * Jackie**: yeah
 * Jackie**: It is. Its neat. And a lot of us are trying to get back in. It like your question before, “Do you miss high school?” yeah we want to get back into high school, so that’s our way of coming back and trying to do that, because we loved it so much.