As high school students in 2017 our lives are dominated by two things: politics and school. Okay, these might not always be the most interesting topics today, but what if it was 1941? We can look at what life might have been like through the romanticized lens of TV and film, but imagine if we were actually there? Enter Joyce O’Brien: a 92 year old spitfire who has lived through eight different wars and almost a century of changes.

Politics:

Since the recent presidential election on Nov. 8, 2016, the United States has been in a sort of political downward spiral. Democrats and Republicans both have their own reasons to disagree with President Trump’s views, but according to O’Brien she has never seen a divide to this caliber in her entire life. Even after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor and being thrown into World War II, Americans didn’t protest the war, nor did they cower in fear. “We had such pride in being American that [we thought], ‘You don’t do this to us, so we’re going to take you to the cleaners,” O’Brien said. “we’re not going to let this happen again.” Additionally, in the 1930’s and 1940’s, people didn’t rely on the government to provide health care (such as the Affordable Care Act) or welfare, even during worst of the Great Depression. Many families (including O’Brien’s) would travel from town to town to find jobs, resulting in her attending nine different schools before she eventually graduated from Oskaloosa High School. O’Brien recalls one week where the only thing there was to eat was spaghetti – no sauce, no cheese – just spaghetti. But that was okay and actually normal. “Let me put it this way, nobody expected that much of the government ever… You were responsible for your own person.”

School:

This year’s graduating class has been told that going to college is an absolute necessity in order to succeed in life, but in 1941 it was the exact opposite. “Those who went to college were the dentist’s son and the doctor’s son,” O’Brien said matter of factly. “People had too many hard times [during the Depression] to even think about going to college.” The norm at the time was for students to graduate from high school and immediately enter the workforce (while only making around $0.10/hr) or go into the military. Similar to some which are offered today, courses were designed to prepare students for successful careers. O’Brien credits her adulthood success to a business course she took while attending Oskaloosa High School where students were taught how to do basic accounting and business etiquette. Outside of school there wasn’t much free time. Students devoted their time to their schoolwork, outside jobs, chores, and getting their clothes ready for the next day. School dances were also very popular among students, and rather than dancing to the Top 40 hits, kids would do dances like the Jitterbug while socializing with friends.