Excerpt: Boot Camp Diary

Wednesday, December 25, 1974
My best friend, LuAnn, gave me this diary for Christmas so I could keep track of everything that happens when I go into the Navy. But since it’s for the whole year and I won’t leave until after I graduate, I am starting today.

First, a little history about my friends & family: My name is Pamela Jane Kraus or P.J. for short. It’s a family joke. I have not been called Pamela since I was 2 years old. When I was little, I always wanted to stay up late with mom and dad. Then I would want to sleep in late the next morning. One Saturday I slept until noon and came to lunch in my pajamas, so they called me “P.J.” ever since. Only my teachers call me Pamela when they take the roll. I am short, 5’ 3 ½” with brown hair and brown eyes. I wear glasses, haven’t gotten my period yet and don’t have any breasts to speak of.(never say "boobs"--that's a derogatory term meant to belittle women.) In fact, I went braless my entire Junior year and nobody even noticed. ( Except for maybe that creepy kid Karl, who has dandruff and seems to sit in the lunchroom hunched over a chessboard all day long. I caught him staring at me more that once during lunch last year. ) Guys call me a “brain.” And they call me if they want help with homework or studying for a test, but they never call me for a date. I think I will ask for contact lenses for my birthday…maybe I should get a padded bra, too.