Sister Natalia was a small woman, but she had fire in her when it came to science. Her class was a requirement, the basics of biology, and wow was she fantastic in creating interest in that subject.
I can still picture her, almost lost behind her desk…and I can almost hear her voice, soft, not always clear and strong..but when you realized how smart she was, how fascinating the content she was imparting…you didn’t want to miss a word. At least, I didn’t.
Natalia taught sophomore Longwood Academy students basic science information. But later, when I looked back, I realized she was giving us information that was way beyond the basics. She was challenging us to want more. It was a time that even though I was only sixteen, I was learning how to make decisions, to understand that every day moves you forward, molds you into who you are and who you will become.
In the second semester of her class, Natalia gave us a very difficult assignment: research, then write a paper about something new that was happening in a scientific field. To do so: Read and read some more. Do careful research, then write a paper concerning what you have learned.
She probably gave our class at least a month or longer to complete the assignment, because for me it required a train trip into Chicago to do research at the Chicago Public Library on Michigan Avenue. A friend and I took the Rock Island into the city, found the library, found a librarian who gave us information as to where we might access materials to satisfy our assignment.
Ironically and like a miracle, Life Magazine had been featuring a continuing series of articles about THE HUMAN BODY, with incomparable illustrations ie: How Your Body Converts Food to Fuel, (To Start, Your Teeth at Work); Fueling Teamwork by the Liver, Heart and Lungs. AND so much more: info about your Stomach, Back, Feet Bones, Muscles and Joints: how they work and what can go wrong.
I was enthralled, took copious notes…and when Natalia lectured…please, keep talking! I love learning all of this. I’ll save my notes. This is fascinating. And so years later those notes helped me choose my second career: I studied much of this same information when becoming a Maternity RN.
And that other life decision?
One normal day in Natalia’s class, a note was passed to me. I don’t remember if it was just folded or in an envelope. And it will always be possible that others in class read it before I did, because I was in the back of the classroom, and the note writer, she was in the front when the note came to me. It read: You can have him, you Bitch.
I did not save the note. And I don’t remember if soon after reading it I tore it up.
I did get the MESSAGE.
I knew this handsome guy had liked this person, and she had liked him. BUT WE WERE ALL SO YOUNG. We were in high school! No permanent plans had been made, each of us learning about one another, each of us growing, figuring out WHO WE WERE. And yes, she was angry, and yes he had become interested in me.
Did I make some big decision in biology class? No, but who we grow to love has to start sometime, and for me it was beginning, life carrying us along as our common interests and likes matured into love…a love that led to bigger, more serious decisions. I like to wonder if years later Sister Natalia would have approved my becoming a teacher and than an RN. And as for the handsome guy, you guessed right, I married him, my life being a wonderful journey because of our love and that subsequent decision. And once again, thanks for reading.
First photo: an artists conception of the Mitochondrion, the powerhouse of the cell. (Life Magazine) Second Photo: Longwood Academy students.