Just to show you I wasn't a puddle EVERY day, I give you this. I had moved from New Jersey to Maryland, and there was some new optimism a-brewing:
The time of day was really important to me for some reason.
Judging from how poorly I did in eighth grade Reading, one would not have guessed that being an English major was in my future. As you can see, I cared more about that old popularity thing than I did about my schoolwork. Again, this is atypical of today's eighth graders.
Oh my, one of the most humiliating moments of my life. I'll elaborate in a moment:
So I was running props for a performance of "The Effects of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds." The lights dimmed to near-black. My task was to remove a tray of flowers from a table and get off the stage in a matter of seconds. Simple.
I was keenly aware that my latest crush, Erin, was in the front row; full attention to the task was, therefore, compromised. Having retrieved the box successfully, I turned and somehow high-stepped onto the chenille swivel-chair behind me. The chair--and the world--spun perilously. The next thing I knew I was lying prone, having achieved a full-on face-plant, the flavor of topsoil on my tongue, fertilizer fresh on my face.
Erin was four feet away. I can still hear her cackle above the gasps and concerned chatter. Still not fully over it.
Kicking off with apologies to an insentient object, or perhaps a future self...
High school eventually happened. I remember feeling absurdly out of place at Friends School, a child of a teacher and a preacher among Baltimore's Quaker elite. My mom got a job teaching English there, I attended practically for free, and thus began my long career in independent schools.
I eventually recovered fully from my former affliction of abject insecurity. And if you believe that, I have a bridge over the East River I can sell you:
Here's to all the young adolescents, past, present, and future, who somehow endure the heartaches of growing up. And here's to the adults in their lives, parents, friends, and teachers, whose love brings them through.
