Shayda H., Magsig Middle School
Finding Yourself
When kids first start middle school, they are starting to find out who they are, whether they are popular or quiet, a sports kid or a nerd, or that kid no one knows about. But I feel that starting my middle school year online took away some of that pressure of deciding who I am. I feel like being online helped me express who I am. I could zoom in from my room and have people see the things that I like to do. They could see the art on my walls and the instruments in my room. Instead of having to find where I fit in with other people, I could just fit in with myself.
When I started 6th grade last year, I was really nervous, I was scared that I would be late to classes or that I would forget about assignments. But I feel that middle school has treated me pretty well, it gets a bad reputation for being the worst years of your life, but it has been an amazing experience so far.
When my school was remote last year, my friends and I would meet up every Wednesday on my friend's trampoline and we would talk about how our day went. If one of us had a bad day we would support them and each other through it. I think that without that time with my friends, getting through online school would’ve been a lot tougher.
I feel that having good teachers will also make middle school easier to survive. My teachers are amazing, they are always so supportive and instead of making middle school seem like a scary new place, they make me feel like I fit in. A roadblock that every student will go through inevitably is disagreements with friends, but if you have good friends, you can always get back together.
Along with having good friends and teachers, I believe the crown jewel of having a good middle school experience is having a supportive family around you. My parents are always so supportive and helpful when I need help on homework or if I simply want their opinion on a project. Their support through the pandemic and middle school have made me more confident and grown up over this past year and a half.
I feel that the trick to surviving middle school isn’t so much a trick as it is a philosophy. If you apply Mrs. Yeck's life philosophy of Being Good + Doing Good = Having Fun + Being Happy to your middle school life, along with just being yourself and being confident, you will survive middle school.
As Earl Nightingale once said “Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don’t wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future.” Even if it isn't possible for me to be happy all the time, I can always enjoy my life and the people around me, and that is what makes me happy.
