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task 08 | marley’s high school experience

let’s start with the simple stuff first. what classes did you take in high school? which ones were you most and least excited for? did you have a favorite teacher that made the days more enjoyable?

“oh, just the basics! math, english, science, social studies. i took a couple home ec classes, too. p.e., obviously. i was also one of, like, two girls in my shop class? maybe? it was probably one of my favorite classes in schoo, actually! aside from biology. i live for anatomy and physiology. my senior year i ended up in ap bio and actually managed a 4 on the exam and nearly lost my mind. coach thompkins taught all the bio classes - and coached basketball as well, obviously - so he wins favorite by default. he just always made class so fun! even when we were talkin’ about something like dna and rna and the super boring stuff, he found a way to make it enjoyable.”

and now, outside of the classroom. did you participate in any extracurricular activities like sports, band, or other clubs? were you apart of the prom planning committee or did your parent always sign up to chaperone field trips? or did you bolt home or to work at the end of the day?

“i didn’t join a whole lot if anythin’ until my junior year ‘cause i was focused on gettin’ out of my house and away from my parents. once i did, though, i did a lot. i joined ffa (don’t judge me), yearbook, dance team, track, student council, and then i worked on the ranch when i wasn’t runnin’ around with school stuff. i didn’t do band or anything like that. my artistic abilities end with dance. the most i ever did with prom or homecoming was fundraiser stuff and, like, making’ sure we stayed within our budget. i left the party plannin’ to the kids who had that kinda vision, because it definitely was not me. my parents were, obviously, not involved in the slightest. my grandparents were pretty prominent in the community, though, and they definitely got involved and helped chaperone stuff, which was a blessin’ and a curse. there was definitely no sneakin’ off to make out under the bleachers when paw was keepin’ an eye on things.”

a night to remember. did you go to prom? if so, did you have a date or fly solo, and was it a good time where you danced all night, and what were you wearing? if not, did you have an ‘anti-prom’ party, or why else did you decide not to go? what about other school dances or pep rallies?

“i actually went all four years of high school. i loved dances - more so for the dancin’ and social aspects than the dresses and dates! obviously the first two years i had dates - different guy friends - but my junior year i went solo! it was easily the most fun i had! senior year i went with a guy i dated for, like, three seconds. y’all know how high school relationships can be. i actually think i still have all four of my dresses tucked away at maw and paw’s somewhere? i’m a sentimental girl; i couldn’t get rid of ‘em. the first two were second hand because i bought ‘em myself. maw and paw bought my last two - my dress junior year was by far my favorite. it was, like, this periwinkle color? and so sparkly - i looked like a disco ball - and just a little risque. at least by high school standards, anyway. it was one of the first times i felt genuinely beautiful. as far as other dances went, we really only did homecoming? we never had any of those sadie hawkins things, thank god! i never woulda been able to ask the guys i liked to go back then. shockingly enough, i went to all my homecomings, too! i actually ended up on court my senior year! i didn’t win, but it was still fun! plus, the guy who won king that year was a giant jerk and i would have ended up kneein’ him in the groin or something while we danced. i didn’t have much of a choice with pep rallies - the dance team was always expected to perform, so i went. i was also a varsity athlete my junior and senior years, so when you letter you gotta go. i never minded, though! i liked the energy and bein’ over-the-top excited about things has always been my forte.”

some more of the hard hitting q’s. who did you sit with at lunch? did you keep the lock off your locker or decorate it? were your headphones always snaked through your sleeve? was cutting class a normal occurrence or would you never dare? did you ever get detention?

“ooohh, good question! if i remember correctly, my freshman and sophomore years i sat with a bunch of the more….troublesome upperclassmen. as a lovely little ‘screw you’ to my parents. if i couldn’t actually go out and be a giant pain in their asses, i was damn sure gonna make sure it looked like i still was to all their friends. middle of my sophomore year was when i ended up switchin’ schools and after that i usually sat with a few of my dance friends or other kids that i ran track with. i bounced between them and my ffa and student council friends through my senior year, but my dance friends were always my go-to. definitely never locked my locker. i had a helluva time rememberin’ my combo and i was damn near always runnin’ late, so i always left it unlocked. it was also always a giant disater. it’s a miracle i ever knew where anything was in my locker. we were never allowed to have our headphones in during any of our classes, so definitely not. i woulda gotten in so much trouble if i’d been caught doin’ that. i cut class pretty regularly my freshman year, but got my act together after that. every once in a blue moon i would after movin’ in with my grandparents, but it was always very strategic and i was very careful not to get caught. sorry maw & paw! eh, a couple times my freshman year, but not after that. definitely not after i started dancin’ and runnin’ track. my coaches would have had me runnin’ suicides until i passed out.”

upward and onward. what did you want to be when you were sixteen? was there a career path in mind, a certain college, another route worth taking? were you excited to see your high school in the rearview mirror or was moving on bittersweet? if you graduated, was it scary or exciting or a mix of both? did you end up where your younger self expected you to?

“emancipated.” she laughed. “truly, though. that was the only goal i really had up until it happened. after that it took a minute. i didn’t really think i’d ever get to a point where i’d get to choose what to do with my life? there had always been this unspoken rule that i did what they said so long as i was their kid and nothin’ i wanted ever mattered to ‘em. for a while i thought i’d just work on the ranch, maybe take over when paw couldn’t do it anymore. some days i still think i might go back and take over and open my own vet clinic. somehow figure out a way to do both - carry on the buckley legacy and forge my own. but who knows! i gotta finish vet school first! speakin’ of, i never imagined college; definitely never thought i’d end up with multiple degrees. sixteen year old me would be floored to see me now. by the end of my senior year, though, i was kind of excited to see what i was actually capable of. i knew i was gonna miss high school and all my friends, but i also knew college was gonna be this new, excitin’ challenge? i’ve always loved a challenge and it was a chance to show my parents that they were wrong to shove me in their tiny little box and...i really do live for those moments, if i’m bein’ honest. that bein’ said, every time i’ve graduated or hit a milestone with school it’s been a little bit of a shock. i think it’s more or less that other people are still proud of my accomplishments - it never fails to throw me for a loop. definitely a mix of both scary and excitin’. i always try to lean into the excitement a little bit more, though. my younger self never woulda dreamt of bein’ here, so absolutely not. i really thought i’d end up married to a carbon copy of my father, hatin’ my life by now when i was a kid. i’d like to thank the powers that be that it didn’t happen.”

and last but not least. if you could tell your younger self one thing - what would it be?

“this is always so hard because there are so many things i would say to a younger me? i’d probably tell her to just...enjoy it more. don’t worry so much about disappointin’ the people who matter to you because there’s nothing you’ll do that’ll make them love you less. so, y’know, just be a kid and enjoy the moments when you’re in them.”

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