My older sister, Crystal, is having her 20 year reunion here in a week or so. And thinking about this got me to remember that year. I was in 7th grade and so, in honor of her, I thought I would go through some of the big memories of those days when being young and doing stupid things wasn't that bad, and if it was, you only got grounded for like two weeks tops, or at least I did.
7th grade... I wasn't that cool. I was in band, took typing, when typing was still done on type writers. We had a computer lab and I never went into it, I wasn't that into computers except to play the Oregon Trail. I tried out for volleyball and didn't make it.. tried out for cheer that year too, didn't make that either. It was an interesting time.
My friends were close to no one that I still keep in contact with now. Not that I don't like them now or vice verse but, I just think that we all grew up and apart. My best friend was a girl named Keely Rodgers-Free. She was so cool where I was so not. She was brave and out going in the cool way where I was just annoying everyone. I still kind of have a hard time with being not socially awkward. There are moments that I should totally keep my mouth shut and no go with it and I don't. I was thinking about her house last night. The way it was set up and what did we do when we were there. Listen to mixed tapes for sure... made mixed tapes. We would make jokes about her brother Shannon. She was the epitome of cool... and she was my friend.
The other girls that I would hang out with weren't any less cool than Keely. Jenny and Jessie always seemed to being hanging out together and lived really close to each other so that made it easy for them... Keely and I lived within a mile of each other too, so that was bonus. There was Keely Hanson and she was really cool too. Rhiannon and then Alicia Clark were the other girls that I remember sitting at the tables with at lunch time and talking to. One day, I remember asking them if you were an animal what would you be. At that next moment, three skater dudes walked outside and pressed themselves up against the warm brick building. I looked at my friends and said, obviously, they would be lizards. We would play Red-Rover and see who we could clothesline. There was Sammy, whom I love to death still, and Karla who is still one person that I love to hear what's going on with her.
I was in girl scouts that year. I can't seem to remember if we went to Disney land that year or the next, but, there were too more girls who were in our troop, Ellen and Holly. Holly and I, still don't get along, but, whatever, it's water under the bridge to me now. Both of them were in band so, we saw each other every single day.
This was the only year in school that we did 7 periods in one day, with the classes going all through the year. I had P.E. first period, band before lunch, I think I had typing and social studies before lunch too. After lunch, I had math, science and English. I could be totally wrong on that though. In my math and science class, there was this guy, Donny Dodge. He was always getting me into trouble. I very distinctly remember one afternoon in Science where we were talking and I got into trouble for it. In math, he sat either next to me, or behind me and would make it a point to tell Mike Rogers that I had a crush on him... which I did, but, that never went anywhere. In years looking back at Donny, he was a lot of fun to be around. He had cancer when I moved up there in the 5th grade, and had his leg amputated. During Christmas our sophomore year, he had died, after the cancer had returned in his spine. It was sad time, but, I will get to that year a little later on.
7th grade was the year that I started to go to church like all the time. We had just got new youth pastor, Matt, and his beautiful wife, Gina. They were my most favorite role models while growing up, love them to death, super awesome people. Anyhow, I went to church with some more girls who were in the grade above mine. Some of us were in band together as well, but, not all of us. There was Betsy and Stacey in 8th grade. Derek, who was 2 years older than me, who I had the biggest crush all the next three years on, and Tami, his girlfriend. Stephen and Alicia and Jana, and other than that, I don't really remember anyone else... oh, Chris Flowers and Mike Rogers too. Church was the most fun that I remember from that time. At the end of the school year, we went to church camp... I have some good memories of that year at camp, but mostly not. Anyhow, I tried to get Derek to like me, and I really wish that I would have known then that the best way to get a guy to like you is to not throw yourself at him and make a fool of yourself, it's to just be yourself and act like a normal human being... that didn't happen with me.
I do remember that if I liked someone other than Derek, like Mike, it always seemed that this one girl, a close friend actually, always ended up going out with him.. and I mean, within a few weeks of me telling her how much I liked them. It was so heartbreaking for me to have to have a friend like that. And it happened with her on more than one occasion, with multiple guys. I don't know why I wanted to be her friend so bad looking back on it... She wasn't the best kind of friend to me. She's one of my friends on Facebook, but, thinking about it now, I don't think I care if she's my friend or not anymore.
I remember thinking, for most of the years I was in Jr. high and high school, that I wasn't all that great. I didn't like myself for way too many years and I am grateful for those years because they have helped me to look at life, and just accept it. That I'm not this horrible ugly thing that no one ever wants to date and if I only have a few close friends, then it's OK. I think Jessica and Vanessa could be right, I can really only handle one close friend at a time. I think that could have been a problem for me in those years.
Anyhow, that's about all I remember from that year. I mostly blocked out the years from my childhood, but, I'm trying to remember them now.. If only for this little project. Tomorrow, I will tackle 8th grade.
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