We were of that generation where the WTS said you must be engaged to be married or no dating,
I remember that! Still that way as far as I know. I used to wonder since in the OT and in the eyes of the borg, an engagement meant about the same as marriage, if you could have sex!
Anyway I ran off as soon as I turned 18--threw myself into the "world" and having had literally NO experience with dating or boys, I soon found myself in with a bad group. I tried to come back about 3 years later due to pressure from Dad, but couldn't stand it and faded away. I, of course, had no college and didn't have the presence of mind or the self-confidence to try much on my own, but I did manage to finish a trade school at age 21. I stayed with that trade till age 35, and then, with 4 kids and a divorce, finally went to JC and University.
I think that the rash of high-school drop outs may have been localized, since almost half the kids in my town quit school in the early 70's to pioneer or whatever. So many wasted lives...
In later years when I complained to my Mom, she, of course, said that the society never told people to drop out of school However, in our cong, all the elders, MSs, and their wives, definitely recommended it.
My siblings all eventually got their GEDs as adults, on their own, after discovering that they couldn't even get a job at Taco Bell without a HS diploma. I can remember my poor brothers at age 16, working like dogs in the hot sun, when they should have been in school, trying to plan for a succussful future, ie an education!
My Mom threw a total tantrum when she found out my Dad had pulled them out of school but the elders told her that he was the "head of the house" and his decision stood. Weeners--all of them!
