So just now I was laying face down on my bed, feelin' pret-ty sorry for myself. When I'm feeling down, my pessimistic train of thought leads me to junior high,
naturally. As I was thinking (or rather, desperately trying to lead my mind away from it) I took it as an opportunity to declare to no one at all that The Junior High Years are really the worst in one's life.
I remembered back to summer before 7th grade when Nickelodeon had this "junior high special" on and it was all about how junior high sucked (which is a really nasty way to scare kids, Nick) and how in high school people are "more mature." I remember that very clearly. Then I got to thinking about why (ok hang in there!) junior high sucked for me. Because it couldn't have really been as cliché and dramaticized as Nickelodeon made it out to be. Except it was. Here's the mental list, written out for the world to see:
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Uncontrollable Hair: Relatively speaking, my hair wasn't that bad at all. Unfortunately, though, I had no idea what to do with it. My mom sucked, now that I think about it. She has super thin, short, straight hair that she blow dries and puts massive amounts of product in. I'm guessing when I hit puberty she thought I was a nightmare, and saw it best to stay out of my way. Nice one, Mom. So I half-straightened it (not knowing
how to use a fucking flat iron) and let my bangs curl to my scalp and let the rest wave idiotically through the storm of frizz. I'm sure I'm painting the pretty picture that was Meghan: Pubescent Pube.
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Awkward Social Skills: Coming in to 7th grade, I had been relatively popular by speaking my mind thru pessimistic, if not butch, commentary. Then, I was shoved into a world where people absolutely do not do that. You can laugh about a teacher, but you don't call them "fucking psychos" and rant endlessly about them in the 7th grade. Turns out, that's not a great way to make friends (only in incredibly lucky circumstances.) So I made very few friends, I believe, and went from class to class frowning. In 8th grade, when I found myself alone more than any other time in my entire life, I would roam the halls, and thought it okay to tap someone and start up a random, one-sided conversation. Looking back on this, I not only displayed an abnormal amount of courage, but a freakish sensibility that makes me squirm to this day. NO ONE WANTED TO TALK TO ME, HENCE THE WEIRD AMOUNT OF ALONETIME. That definitely did not register back then.
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Trend Setter Extraordinare: Then there was the "trend" thing that makes junior high,
junior high. I was not into it; thought it was Cool to speak out against it. This definitely did
not affect my amount of friends, I'll tell you that much. Coming from VCCS, once again, being unique was celebrated, and I was the negative, sarcastic-commentator in the group. Then my BFF was a gal named Erin who was just as cynical about the world in 5th grade, as I was in 6th grade. She confirmed my hate, so I went on with life thinking that giving the middle finger under desks was acceptable behavior. Anyway, when the Target/UGG brand slipper/shoe came into being, I marveled as I sat on the floor by Roxy's locker, watching each person walk by with a pair on. Even the boys!
- Clothes/boob situation, trembling through speeches, constant affair with a kleenex (or sleeve) etc... Let's just stop now.
BUT THIS WAS NOT THE POINT OF THE POST: when I was thinking about all the things that I did wrong in junior high that got me laughed at, bullied, and labeled, I came to the conclusion that there should be no junior high. That kids should be homeschooled from the ages of 12 to 16. Then they can go to high school and have the "important social experience." When I formed this stroke of genius, I thought it my civic duty to take this directly to the media!
But then the bad thoughts came. Y'know...the faults in the plan. The cracks in the system. This was my thought process, applying the "problem-solving methods," I mastered in grade school:
Problem:
- Kids wouldn't learn proper social skills when their minds are a-malleable.
Solution:
- Kids would learn from their parents/teachers how to interact like an adult. They would observe and be taught this kind of ettiquette instead of learning through awkward circumstance/the hard way.
Problem:
- Kids would become just as annoying as their fucking parents (through unconcious imitation)
Solution:
- This would happen with or without homeschooling. And with homeschooling, kids don't gang together to form Shit Storm Patrols that set rules of appearance. Rules--might I add!--that don't make a fucking difference when you get out of there.
Problem:
- BUT! Some people liked junior high, Meghan!
It was fun!
Solution:
- Suck my dick.
:D
WARNING: THIS COMMERCIAL IS A DRAMATIZATION AND IS AWESOME.