The third grade was an exceptionally awkward time for me, more so than even the middle school and freshman tween years. The elementary school I was attending was mostly fed by one specific kindergarten, and since my parents had me go to a private preschool, I didn’t know anyone my first day. This didn’t stop me from making friends once I got acquainted with the system, but I definitely remembered the feeling of not knowing anyone, or at least the over-dramatized version of the incident my eight year old self remembered. Fast forward to the fifth grade, when we had a new student transfer in. He had just moved to California from mainland China, and since I lived in the heavily chinese Bay Area, no one really paid any attention to the new kid
No one would talk to her, recess was spent in anguish, and she would find garbage and spoiled food in her book bag. As she progressed into 5th grade, some of the social atmosphere began to shift in subtle but profound ways. Being accepted into a clique is all that matters. Instead of being admired for class participation, as in earlier years she was laughed at and labeled as “teacher’s pet.” She said the rules were simple “shun or be shunned—if you weren’t willing to go along with the crowd, you would become the reject.”
Ask yourself, how was your 8th grade year… Was it good, bad, fun, or stressful? Well most of my 8th grade year was bad but the ending actually turned out good. The start of my year was exciting, but that was just the beginning. As time went on and the work started to come in, that's when things turned south for me. I started stressing about everything I had to do, I was getting to overwhelmed. I would catch myself slipping constantly and it was worrying me because I didn't want to get held back a year. I slowly started to lose all interest in all of my work.
In my first few weeks of Kindergarten, things appeared to be going smoothly. I made a number of friends and fell comfortably into what could be considered the middle social caste in the overall hierarchy. I was especially close
Compare that to this year; I was oddly calm going into my first year of highschool… But also my life was different back then; I didn’t know that many people due to the fact that I had moved to the area during the last four months of fifth grade. I also had the social skills equivalent to that of a turtle; I didn’t exactly “break out of my shell” or get to know a lot people. Just like Auggie, I was horrifically shy and didn’t have a large peer group. I’m not kidding when I say that it didn’t matter who the person
Angel again, in second grade. In the same cold, hard voice, in front of the entire class, she had expressed his discontentment with my choice of people to hang out with that day. I was sitting next to a group of less than stellar students in class. My interactions with them were rare, if not nonexistent, before that time. Candidly, I didn’t know much about them. I was naive and didn’t realize that I was being pulled into a deep abyss of nonchalance and ignorance and those students were the culprits. Shell-shocked, I obeyed blindly.
This time I moved to Warren, Michigan and I attended my last year of elementary school with brand new people. The process of getting to know people took me a long time. I became the shy student that did not take part in any school activity again because I was afraid I would be judged on everything I did. As the years went by I started meeting new people each year. It is now my Senior year of High School and I attend three different schools: CPC, Cousino, and Macomb Community College, I can finally say that I am gaining my confidence back.
When I was in middle school I thought life was just full of joy and I really did not have
When I first changed elementary schools, I was shy and concerned that this would keep me from making friends. I moved to Harper just before finishing second grade, but it wasn’t until August of that year that I actually attended school in Harper. At first, I’d spend my recesses walking the playground and watching children play with their friends. After my first few days of school, students began to bully me about my size, appearance, or shyness. Counselor visits became a regular and my once happy nature slowly became a rarity. I don’t remember how long I’d been in Harper before Samuel and I met. He once stood up for my when I was being called fat and we had been friends ever since.
Oh seventh grade, what a year to remember. That was actually my favorite year of middle school. At home during this time was a mess and my grades also plummeted but I think going to school took some stress off because I was taking some time to "myself" and forgetting for a while about my home situation. Seventh grade, I would say was a year of friends for me. I had and still to this day have a friend from kindergarten that I considered a best friend. Until a new girl came along, lets call her Patricia. Patricia basically took "my spot" I guess in fifth grade while I was off at my new school for the year. Anyway speeding forward to seventh grade I noticed my best friend, lets call her Amanda, not really talking to me anymore and or passing by
It was the year when I still believed the tooth fairy was real. The famous 3rd grade year was when I started questioning my identity. It was nearly noon when the sunlight beams hit my skin as I stand outside Ms. Nguyen classroom with about 29 other students. It was our first day of ELD class and I waited for her to gesture us in. She opens her door and greets each of us as we enter. Her greetings were brief since she just wanted to know our first and last name. It was my turn…
From fifth grade to seventh grade was a difficult time. I was unable to talk to anyone at school because I was unfamiliar with the culture. The ways my friends talk, their conversation’s topic and their slang. I was not participating in any conversation they have. I was the same as the whale that could not communicate with other whales because she has different frequency of voice.
During this stage of development, there were many changes going on regarding my social life. Starting in 8th grade, a girl began to bully me. She was mad that I made the volleyball team and she did not, so she began to yell at me in the halls and push me around. I hoped that once we got to high school that it would stop; it did, but not for long. Before I knew it, tenth grade came
I woke up with a grin on my face, ready for the long but exciting day. Today could change my whole middle school career. So many questions. Where to sit at lunch? Where to go for classes?
In six grade, I had to interact with other kids. I slowly learned that I could talk to them, by the middle of the year. The learning in that class in the middle of the school year wasn’t the greatest. I learned a lot and grew a lot during that year, from being scared in the beginning of having friends in the end of the year. I had a great teacher named Mrs. Sandoval who really gave me the help I needed.
Yikes. The first day of middle school. I can not wait to meet new people and make new memories. I step on to the campus of the middle school and learn where my home room class is. As I enter my homeroom I see my best friend, Julia. Thank God there is someone I can talk to and not sit awkwardly alone. The bell rings, telling all the students first period, homeroom, is starting. My teacher is an older fellow with glasses, on the shorter side, and going bald.