May 18, 2011

I am pretty much a boss.
And while this news is no news, its perks are.
See it's lonely at the top, and not even the help cares enough to crawl to my assistance. So when I got a free bite size candy bar, a free breakfast and a front of the line pass, I just figured one of my three facebook photos had reeled me in another stalker.
Turns out I was considered a leader of the school. There were other people receiving these things, but I like to think of them as co-leaders. Sharing my title really messes with the pure awesomeness.

And other than the free food, I was also nominated for the American Legion Award.
I had to write an essay relate the quote,'Experience is the best teacher,' with my time at my school and act as though I'm speaking to an incoming 6th grader and giving tips on how to be successful.

It's actually the reason I didn't post yesterday or the day before or something, it's kinda a big deal and I know everyone isn't going to like it. Especially because I didn't talk about the hierarchy of the lunch tables or the backpack weight ratio, but I pretty much summed things up.

This is it.

Apprehension and anxiety are lives most common symptoms of inexperience and change. They influence our every movement behind the starting line of any new challenge, stalling us and trying desperately to keep us from the unknown. There is no stopping the gunshot that signals the beginning of the race, or our heart from, simply, racing. But once the first step is taken, our fears will disintegrate, and by the second step we will laugh at those waiting, worried.

            The beauty of school is that it is merely a step, the hardest part of any race, getting into motion. It is a conquest, true, that will try our patience and strength, but it must be cherished, the peaks and falls. In the moment, middle school seems tedious, when in fact the lessons it could provide are slipping through our fingers, fleeting. We cannot let it go to waste, and to do this we must accept it for what it is, if only so that we may enjoy it. ‘Experience is the best teacher’ is a quote that stands true in the eyes of any middle school, especially at my school, where I’ve attended for three years. I realize that because of the truth this statement stands on, not every piece of wisdom I have acquired will be understood, or followed, until it is learned for one’s self. How naively we approach middle school is a testament to the proverb and may affect what and how we truly learn in school. Middle school is a battlefield of inner struggle, and the best way to keep from becoming a casualty is by knowing what you want to be.

The idea that every teenager knows exactly who they are is one that only a teenager believes, and in a place that will further define our personalities it becomes more absurd. I speak of goals and dreams where you have an image in mind of a place just out of reach, to motivate and judge from. The best rules are the ones we set for ourselves, and though the list of new rules to follow may seem long as we approach middle school, they are meaningless if we don’t draw our own lines, some thick enough to be seen at the years initiation, and others so thin, that if crossed, won’t be remembered until far too late. The lines we cross purposely are the ones that will forever dictate the way we are seen, they are the ones that are blatant and yet appear to have no consequences. Pretending to be something we are not is, perhaps, the most tired yet neglected of all advice given to middle school students. What I did, and my fellow classmates did, what you and yours will inevitably do, is become either too extravagant or too subtle, fitting in so much that you become unrecognizable or standing out until it becomes awkward. Do not let the mold dry, hard as steel and hopeless to refinement, before it is too late to reach the justice that is self-confidence.

Success in middle school, my school in particular, is not to have the hallways dense with admirers, or to be cloaked in an incessant spotlight. For after the final bell has rung, these things will remain in the hallways, or on stage, they cannot follow us, despite our want for familiarity. Middle school is a time in which every detail becomes a story, momentous. Listen and watch and remember, so that the teachers you will become can do their work properly. Do not let the ephemeral become anything more than it is, and the transitory, long lasting. Success can be found in fearing only what deserves our attention, and knowing what those things are. It is keeping one eye on the future, and the other on everything around us that can possibly be seen. Success is staying true to yourself, even when you cannot tell exactly who that is yet. It is so close, that it is tangible, like music to our ears, and sunlight to our faces.

             School is not limited to reading, writing and arithmetic; it prepares us for the world in which we must walk alone. The most difficult tests we take will not be the ones in class, but the ones that can only be studied for with experience. Some information simply can’t be passed by book, but must be learned personally, so that the true meaning can be grasped.


And other than my essay my day consisted of shaking hands and abstinence. Coming to a bumper stick near you!

Actually in health we were each given a card. Then we had to follow its instructions and shake the hands of however many people it said to.
Specs and this basketball player both got a card that said 'Shake 4 peoples hands' and had the letter A on it. They were both diagnosed with AIDS, which is bad.
Then my teacher made Specs act out telling her dad, and the basketball player calling an old girlfriend.
Then all the people that had shaken their hands stood up, then all the people who had shaken their hands stood up. Soon only four of us were sitting.

It was educational in that I totally understand the 1 in 4 statistic about AIDS now.
*the more you know*

I had the 'Don't shake anyone's hand' card, which everyone expressed was perfect. Ahahaha, chortle, chortle.

The two people who were 'promiscuous' were also perfect for their parts. They stood in front of the glass and we called out names we would call them in real life. It got pretty vicious. When it was over even my teacher said, 'Sit down whore!'  Joking, of course.

She was laughing so hard she was crying. At least I think I saw laughter.

Then they had to answer question after question about what they would do if she got pregnant. Intense.

I learned my lesson.
AIDS are bad.

Thanks for tuning in today to O's Show!
And don't wear Crocs.

That is all.