Mountain To Climb
Middle school. How do I want remember it? The first day, where I was scared to death only to realize the world can't be that big? Or the second day when the rest of school came and were twice my size? Possibly the last day of the first year where I set a school geography record. Today, maybe? Yesterday? The Friday before that? Now that it's over--officially over--and I'm a high schooler, it all seems like some weird dream. A dream with nasty food, people who tried to feed me information I'll probably never need again, and people who stuck with me the whole time. Exaggerate the nasty food part and you're on your way to knowing what middle school was like for me. I mean, the pizza dripped grease!
On Monday, I woke up at 6:00 and was rushed to the school. It was cold outside, even with the amount of people huddling around me. The bus ride was long and lonely. Michelle had decided to not come, meaning I was the only one from my group that was on the bus. Three hours sitting next to a self absorbed girl. How much worse does it get? There were wild horses, dozens of them. And then we were there. At Kah-Nee-Ta. I didn't sunburn, thanks to overly obsessive sunscreening. Even after laying down in the sun with my best friend, Mo, for an hour and attempting to tan, I was fine. She, however, manages to get three shades darker in the amount of time I get...no shades darker >,<
I went down the small water slide a few times. The first one, I sat up and went really slow. Mo said all the girls were laughing at slow I was going. The next time, I layed on my back and went much faster. And the two times after that, I arched my back and dug in my heels. The places were there was a different section of the slide (kind of like the different train tracks on the Geo stuff) dug into my back because I was going so fast. Ouch. I played mini golf with Mo and her boyfriend, Jacob. I accidentally grabbed a soda with caffeine and I've never had caffeine so...the effects it had on me were pretty strong. I was bouncing and doing my terrible Harlem Shake. Yeah...I will always read EVERY soda label from here on out. Always.
The next night, it was my promotion ceremony. Woohoo, right? The concept of a whole bunch of kids reaching academic success (in the sense of taking all portfolio pieces and passing one--I don't see how that's hard to accomplish for the six who didn't make it) is great. Go America! However, we're the biggest group of kids who have ever made it to promotion and Kah-Nee-Ta. 159 kids. Think about this concept: 169 kids' parents, grandparents, and friends all gathered in a fairly small gym and sandwhiched between other sweaty people they may or may not know. And let's not forget that Barlow never turns on the AC. Other than that, it's fine. A whole bunch of awards were announced that honor 8th graders who died while they were going to Gordon Russell. And then they read a letter from the president that was about how the kids who got this one award can do anything they set their minds to. The principal said that six people qualified this year for: getting a 3.5 or higher GPA all three trimesters of all three years and exceeding every single state math, science, and reading test all three years.
And I finally got an award my ever studying friend, Michelle, didn't. She seriously coops up in her room all day reading the textbooks that she begged for for her birthday. Anyway, I got the award. The Presidential Award for Outstanding Education. I guess it's a big deal, considering that now I have a letter from the president that was indirectly written to me hanging up in my room. And a certificate with his signature (pretty authentic looking, but I guess you never know) and the secretary of education's signature hangs right next to it on my magnet board. That will only last for a few months, and then it will probably be put in a scrapbook or in Mom's bin of things to put in a scrapbook. I'm wanting to keep it without her doing that though. I was pretty proud, as you can imagine. Remember that algebra rant I had a while back, well, I was the only non algebra person who got the award. And at school, they always say one person can make a difference. I was a difference...and I'm pretty sure they've just dug themselves a hole. If they don't go back to two algebra classes next year, I'm going to be pretty shocked. Kind of, not really.
I think I'm going to remember middle school by tireless days of PE, followed by intense walks after school. By treating grades like a game, and I had to win. But mostly, like elementary school, by the people and the looks. The cafeteria is always going to be etched into my brain, along with the music I listened to during that stage in my life. For elementary school, I always think of Hannah Montana...haha :P The totem poles are going to really stand out in my memories. And the friends. Always the friends. Since five of them are leaving, I'm really grateful for that.
It was a mountain to climb, and the view from up here is awesome. Now it's Alexis's turn while I start up a steeper, longer slope where it seems so easy to fall off and down...down...down. But with music at my side, writing holding my back, and the confidence that award gave me as a rope, I can do anything. ( Cheesy, but I'm having one of those wisdom moments, lol)
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On Monday, I woke up at 6:00 and was rushed to the school. It was cold outside, even with the amount of people huddling around me. The bus ride was long and lonely. Michelle had decided to not come, meaning I was the only one from my group that was on the bus. Three hours sitting next to a self absorbed girl. How much worse does it get? There were wild horses, dozens of them. And then we were there. At Kah-Nee-Ta. I didn't sunburn, thanks to overly obsessive sunscreening. Even after laying down in the sun with my best friend, Mo, for an hour and attempting to tan, I was fine. She, however, manages to get three shades darker in the amount of time I get...no shades darker >,<
I went down the small water slide a few times. The first one, I sat up and went really slow. Mo said all the girls were laughing at slow I was going. The next time, I layed on my back and went much faster. And the two times after that, I arched my back and dug in my heels. The places were there was a different section of the slide (kind of like the different train tracks on the Geo stuff) dug into my back because I was going so fast. Ouch. I played mini golf with Mo and her boyfriend, Jacob. I accidentally grabbed a soda with caffeine and I've never had caffeine so...the effects it had on me were pretty strong. I was bouncing and doing my terrible Harlem Shake. Yeah...I will always read EVERY soda label from here on out. Always.
The next night, it was my promotion ceremony. Woohoo, right? The concept of a whole bunch of kids reaching academic success (in the sense of taking all portfolio pieces and passing one--I don't see how that's hard to accomplish for the six who didn't make it) is great. Go America! However, we're the biggest group of kids who have ever made it to promotion and Kah-Nee-Ta. 159 kids. Think about this concept: 169 kids' parents, grandparents, and friends all gathered in a fairly small gym and sandwhiched between other sweaty people they may or may not know. And let's not forget that Barlow never turns on the AC. Other than that, it's fine. A whole bunch of awards were announced that honor 8th graders who died while they were going to Gordon Russell. And then they read a letter from the president that was about how the kids who got this one award can do anything they set their minds to. The principal said that six people qualified this year for: getting a 3.5 or higher GPA all three trimesters of all three years and exceeding every single state math, science, and reading test all three years.
And I finally got an award my ever studying friend, Michelle, didn't. She seriously coops up in her room all day reading the textbooks that she begged for for her birthday. Anyway, I got the award. The Presidential Award for Outstanding Education. I guess it's a big deal, considering that now I have a letter from the president that was indirectly written to me hanging up in my room. And a certificate with his signature (pretty authentic looking, but I guess you never know) and the secretary of education's signature hangs right next to it on my magnet board. That will only last for a few months, and then it will probably be put in a scrapbook or in Mom's bin of things to put in a scrapbook. I'm wanting to keep it without her doing that though. I was pretty proud, as you can imagine. Remember that algebra rant I had a while back, well, I was the only non algebra person who got the award. And at school, they always say one person can make a difference. I was a difference...and I'm pretty sure they've just dug themselves a hole. If they don't go back to two algebra classes next year, I'm going to be pretty shocked. Kind of, not really.
I think I'm going to remember middle school by tireless days of PE, followed by intense walks after school. By treating grades like a game, and I had to win. But mostly, like elementary school, by the people and the looks. The cafeteria is always going to be etched into my brain, along with the music I listened to during that stage in my life. For elementary school, I always think of Hannah Montana...haha :P The totem poles are going to really stand out in my memories. And the friends. Always the friends. Since five of them are leaving, I'm really grateful for that.
It was a mountain to climb, and the view from up here is awesome. Now it's Alexis's turn while I start up a steeper, longer slope where it seems so easy to fall off and down...down...down. But with music at my side, writing holding my back, and the confidence that award gave me as a rope, I can do anything. ( Cheesy, but I'm having one of those wisdom moments, lol)
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