Junior High

Now that I'm back working at the school district for a time, of course I'm back walking through various schools. I spend 95% of my time in elementary schools but occasionally I have to go to a junior high and once in a great while, I end up at a high school.

I hated high school when I was there as a student, and I still hate high school as a grown-up. Junior high's are nearly as bad and I'll tell you why.

When I was 13, I stopped growing. I was a measly 5' 1", size 6 shoe, and never progressed further. So to step back into a junior high now, I find myself right. back. there.

And it hasn't changed. You can peg what groups are what by the way they collect, and walk and talk. You can tell who's feeling awkward or lost. The angst just rushes back!

But when I was at a J.H. last week, I thought, "wait, you didn't have a horrible junior high experience, what's all this emotional business?" I started to sort of analyze it and I think it's related to how I feel about high school. Junior high's these days are visually, so similar to high schools. I mean, the girls (yikes!), what are parent's letting these kids wear anymore? Half of them looked older than me! I don't remember my JH being like that - it was high school. My JH looked more like an elementary school with lockers but these schools here in Utah look like small renditions of high schools.

I guess JH wasn't an awful experience for me. In fact, looking back it was actually really fun! And then, halfway through my 8th grade year we moved from California to Colorado which was hard,but it was also fun starting new then. I was "the girl from California" and was instantly popular. It wasn't until high school (the marching band experience) and all those girl hormones that turned happy-go-lucky into nail-biting angst.

Here's me in 8th grade. Girls, do you remember that hairstyle?