Member-only story
Clique Me if You Can — Still Finding My Tribe Long after High School
It is okay not to fit in. It means you stand out.
I was eight years old when we moved to Pennsylvania Dutch Country, but it could have been Mars from what I could determine.
Most people had a Dutch accent, even my teacher. My brother Vince, quickly became “Wince.”
Questioning my ability to communicate; I retreated into reading. Voraciously.
In my childhood, we traveled to Europe as a family. My father was a doctor in a land of farmers. They stayed close to home since cows require milking twice a day.
In high school, I was athletic, one of the founding members of the Girls’ Track team and studious, taking advanced classes. Though I had friends in different cliques, I was not invited to many parties. I didn’t smoke or drink. As cliques go, I was ‘undefined;’ no one knew which clique I belonged to.
I believe this shaped who I am today.
Today, I work in manufacturing, a predominantly male arena. Despite the labor force being almost evenly split between men and women, only 27% of manufacturing employees are women.
I am one of those minority percentages.
