Copycat

is what I'm going to be, because pineapples and hubby want me to.

Pre-School: I bit a hole in my tongue and it took four adults to hold me down (including my stepdad, but not my mom because she was crying too much and waited outside) while they sewed it back together. It was rough...

Kindergarten: I was in tap dance and ballet and couldn't recognize a beat. I remember asking if I could practice some more, and being told not to worry about it. (I still think I sucked, but Mama was really proud of me at the recital) I later wore the ballet costume for Halloween

1st Grade: I joined cheerleading and tried to make my own cheers. I also wasn't popular with the girls because the guys liked to hang out with me.

2nd Grade: I met my best friend (til 7th grade) and we bonded over both liking Sailor Moon and Michael Telling. We'd boast to each other about what he did to/for us, and be 'secretly' jealous.

3rd Grade: I met my second grade teacher in the hallway and she asked me why I hadn't moved yet (my family had been talking about it and I'd told her back in second grade). I wasn't sure why not, but she gave me this condescending 'Sure, dear' reply. I remember it startled me because I had really liked her a lot. This is also the year I join AIG, and start getting taken out of class to do tests. Then, when I scored really well, another girl punched me in the stomach because she 'was supposed to be the best'.

4th Grade: (I moved in the middle of third grade to Hoke county) I refused to be mean to another girl (who ended up actually being really weird) in third grade, but in fourth grade, I made two new friends Skye and Sierra. Skye had a build like me, but Sierra was tiny, and we all got along really well.

5th Grade: I got out of class early to go fold the flag every day. This is also the year that a guy (class clown, and generally really annoying, mean guy) professed to like Sierra and wouldn't leave her alone. I remember I ended up slapping him when he started screaming in my face (literally, just screaming, because he thought it was funny), and he told the PE teacher. He took me aside and asked me why, and when I explained it, he just warned both of us. Note: It became a game among the girls to either slap him, or threaten to if he didn't leave them alone. He didn't tell on anyone else.

6th Grade: Middle school! ...I joined the volleyball team, and met up with some neighbors a year older than me. They were really cruel, and would pretend to be nice to confuse me. I never really did anything back because I couldn't understand them.

7th Grade: I remember a joke going around about a guy that I liked and me having 70 kids together when we grow up. This made my friend Amanda cry (she liked him too), and she completely blamed me, saying I had betrayed her. The other girls took her side, and it took a while for the drama to die down, even though he and I were only ever friends. I also ran for School Government, and Amanda and I shared the position because the school announced Amanda won, but the Government said that I did.

8th Grade: In volleyball I and two other girls with names that started with J became starters, and the coach called us her 'Three Js'. When we wore our uniforms one day someone took the large shorts I normally wore and I had to wear tight ones. A lot of guys noticed, and one or two girls confronted me, saying "Don't you think you need a larger pair of shorts?" but they backed off when I explained the situation. Another memory of this year that tends to make me cringe: I made friends with a REALLY unpopular girl, and when the school called her up at an awards ceremony, people actually booed at her. When we got back to the classroom, I threw a Harry Potter Book (I think it was the third one) at one of the guys I KNEW started the booing. It hit his upper thigh, and when he told the teacher, without missing a beat, she said that if I had done it, then he probably deserved it. I think that shocked him and me equally (I was prepared to get sent to ISS). I also took High School level Math, got confessed to by a guy that I pity-dated for a few days before him giving me gifts made me call it off, and was in Battle of the Books (all through middle school, actually).

9th Grade: I'm not sure if this was ninth or tenth grade, but I remember writing a story where I admitted my mother was originally white trash, and read it out loud. It completely stunned the entire class, including the teacher (I was her best student) and there was silence before a really amazed round of applause. That got me a lot of respect from everyone though. This is also the year I made a LOT of friends in pretty much EVERY social circle, and joined marching band (I had been in band throughout middle school) as well as the volleyball team. I also broke my ankles (I only knew I broke the one in the cast) in a bomb threat.

10th Grade: I joined the Females Weightlifting Class and overheated everyday. It became normal for everyone in Band to see me practicing flute or the Pit instruments with a bag of ice balanced on my head. My mom tried to help me become fashionable, but actually ended up getting me clothes that were too big (because of my chest), and didn't help at all. I became too embarrassed to wear them.

11th Grade: NCSSM! I stopped practicing flute, I learned how stupid I could be, and I stopped getting adequate sleep. I remember this year as drama-filled, and I was incredibly glad to have my three best friends with me while people blamed me for things that had to be done because lives were involved. I still think if I had been sleeping properly, I could have done so much better there.

12th Grade: This was the year that I refused to be involved in drama. When I felt my boyfriend was taking too much of my time, and worried me with how devoted he was (I had never seen such devotion in someone our age, let alone directed at me!), I broke up with him. I remember taking my sister to prom with me, and getting back together with my now hubby right after prom. He influenced my decision to go to NC State (because he would be there), when I got rejected from my first choice.

.....It's amazing how if you focus, the memories start flooding back. Now I rather wish I hadn't done this. I like letting the past be. There's a ton of things I now want to add to each year, but it's only supposed to be one memory (and I've already broken that). I think its interesting how I focused on the people around me, instead of anything else. heh. ....