She was only 18...

When I was 18 I was such a nerd!

I love being in a class full of young and vibrant students, with so much of their lives before them. I just know the next few years are going to be amazing for them.

Reading through their blogs, listening to their stories, has made me think about when I was only 18.

I was such a sheltered and naive teenager. I was raised in a very strict Catholic family, with a French father that ruled with an iron fist. My rules were very different to those of my brothers. I had to be home by midnight, and any potential boyfriends had to be screened by my parents. I wish I was kidding!!!

I loved music, especially UK pop. I read music magazines and spent hours listening to bands like Spandau Ballet, Thompson Twins, The Human League, Simple Minds, Madness, Howard Jones, OMD and Duran Duran. I had a boom box and spent all my money on records.

I had penpals from all over the world; real penpals that you used stamps and fancy stationary to correspond with. You waited weeks for a response, and you devoured every word.

I would dream about travelling the world, about meeting the right man, about starting a family. All of these were probably a means to move away from my controlling father, but dreams all the same.

I was working as a reader in a media monitoring company. It was my first job, and I loved it. I developed the ability to 'speed read' and found it was something I was actually good at. I read newspapers and magazines from all over Australia, and it was almost like 'travelling', knowing what was going on in other states. We didn't have the internet then!

Wednesday and Saturday nights were spent seeing live bands at The Shenton Park, where I had established a close knit group of friends, that I am still good friends with today. I played squash at Murdoch University, with friends studying to be vets, and I had started ballroom dancing.

I was very shy (hard to believe), drove a 1974 red Ford Escort and had just discovered hair gel. I wore short skirts and Doc Martens and believed I could save the world.

These are some of my memories, from when I was 18....