Seventh grade brought many changes.  First, I had to ride a bus to school where I began to dread the rides, mostly because this was the primary place where students made it known that they didn’t wish to associate with me.  I usually sat in the closest seat I could to the bus driver so that I felt somewhat protected in case some of the comments/teasing or bumping into me and laughing would get out of hand.  Some students were brave enough to sit next to me and talk to me.  At school I realized that I was fairly smart, or why else would I receive straight “A”s in seventh grade math, “A’s and B”s” in English; or was on the honor roll each marking period?  I didn’t have a space or place to study much at home so I had to do as much school work at school as I could.  I did become a patrol student; with the requisite belt and felt more like a part of school when I was “on duty”.  Somewhere in the later part of the year, I and another 7th grade student (male) found out we were finalists for a character award; the highest award given to a seventh and eighth grader each year.  The four of us were taken to a jail house and saw the cells where the prisoners stayed… (memory???); and we ate their food.  I must have been truly not in touch with the situation because I couldn’t understand how this trip and the character  award were matched or correlated, I kept thinking were they afraid we might end up in jail? Of course I didn’t ask because I was too embarrassed to let the teachers know I didn’t understand the situation.

At the awards ceremony, I was truly surprised at how many awards I received; I was runner-up for “Patrol of the Year”, was inducted into the National Honor Society; received a certificate for straight “A’s” in Math; and Yes, I won the character award.  I was so surprised and felt very much in the spotlight. What surprised me most however was that I didn’t receive handshakes or even acknowledgement from my teachers, I thought perhaps that I did something wrong. I think it was because some teachers felt I was given the award because many teachers felt sorry for me; at least that is what I heard later. It took the glow away somewhat of that moment, however I still felt I was recognized for something beyond my home life.  My seventh grade male student  won the character award the next year.  My only other vivid memory was when I had the hiccups during a 7th grade history test, and was not allowed to go outside to get water.  As I was concentrating on the test, a sudden SLAM!! came down on my desk from my teacher, effectively scarring the hiccups out of me.

 

Stuttering followed me in junior high as well, adding to my uncomfortableness with peers. I remember a girl from England who befriended me and I her, although I don’t recall how she happened to land in Tucson.  She was a bit sad like me, and I remember conversations  about her family and how they would likely choose the man she was to marry. I felt badly for her as I imagined what it would be like for my parents to choose someone for me, a situation I would not appreciate I was sure.

Eighth grade was pretty much a mirror of seventh grade, although the higher level of Math was much more difficult and since I couldn’t study much outside of school, I did ok but not at the level I did in 7th grade.  Eighth grade ended and I wondered about what high school would be like. My older sister would be a senior and for the first time I would ride a bus with her.

Grateful for these years,

SaceanCarol