After a year of "fun" in the seventh grade, reality struck -- I had to make the greatest contribution toward my success. Thankfully I do not believe that I ran into a teacher who tried to make it harder for me to be successful - at least not at this point. So "buckle down" became my mantra. I lost my beloved grandmother at the beginning of my seventh grade year. At the beginning of the eighth grade I prayed to God and asked for three things. 1) I wanted a boyfriend who would respect my values. I believe I used the phrase, "give me another love from which to draw since I lost my grandmother." 2) I wanted to lose the extra weight that I had been carrying around all of my life; and 3) I wanted to be smart again. It is strange that 37 years later I still remember the requests of a 13-year-old. I met some teachers who left strong impressions on my life, including Ms. Tusai - one of my favorite English teachers. She never knew just how much of an impact she had. I remember the names of five of my 8th grade teachers (out of six?). The rest are a blur.
Math that year was a terrible experience. No matter how I tried, I could not grasp the concepts that this teacher was trying to communicate. When I think of that teacher today, I see her sitting behind the desk more than anything...maybe that is why I could not grasp those concepts that year. She made a statement to me at the end of the year that has puzzled me ever since. It was something along the lines of, "You are a very bright young lady. I never understood why you were in this class and not the top class." In my mind I knew why, but I always hoped that the eighth grade powers-that-be would see the mistake and move me to the "higher level." It didn't happen that year.
Ninth grade year had a feel of its own.
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