Elena's report card, 1940-1945
From her Hallmark Grandmother's Diary, Elena wrote about her teenage life. Her description of World War II is brief. She was 13 years old when the war broke out and when it ended, she was almost 17 years old.
"When I was a Teen
I remember my teen years as during World War II. It was fun until the bombings. It was awful then. Why do we have war? I don't know, but I hate it.
My favorite age was young because I had no worries. My parents took care of everything. My family and I were happy. Everybody enjoyed.
I was allowed to date at age 16 but on the sly, and my first real boyfriend was 1. Alejandro Campos (puppy love), 2. Luis (Chito) Roces, then 3. Manuel (Noli) Fragante, 4. P., 5. B. Some of the rules my parents set for me were chaperone.
To earn my spending money, I didn't have to.
A special event from my teen years that I'll always remember was my 17th birthday party in Libertad house and Pilar Goyena gave me one dozen chocolate birthday cakes. She had a baker friend (U.S. Army). I'll never forget that. She is loved by me and whoever knows her, like her family.
A vacation I'll always remember was any vacation was happy and enjoyable because I had no worries, only eat and enjoy. My parents were there and provided all, so why should I worry."
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