My Educational Journey Part 1- Middle School

This following blog is more for me more than you; I want to explore how I became who I am as far as education and career path. To explore what created me as a man would be a long book, so I won’t put you through that, at the moment.

The other day I was in quick check and I bumped into a person whom I hadn't seen in a while. The conversation was that one would usually have in this situation, "what are you doing?" I told him that I am majoring in English at Montclair to which he responded with laughter and “I couldn't see that ten years ago". This made me think of my journey thus far. I must admit that I never thought this would be my path either, and I think anyone who knew me just 6; years ago when I was graduating high school, would find this humorous as well. I don't even know where to start telling the journey of my education and maturation, I guess ill begin in 6th grade. This will be most likely a three part segment—let's begin.

Sixth grade was a weird one for me; it was my first year in a public school. Prior to that I was in catholic school, where I had the same classmates each year so I never really had to meet new people, I didn't even know how. I was somebody at St. Teresa's school, I had friends, I liked a girl in class and I was comfortable there, now I'm thrown into a new situation with kids who have been in school with one another for years. What the Hell was I going to do?

My parents enrolled me in the Summer Recreation program in hopes I would me people, I really only made one friend that summer, my buddy Mike who still happens to be my best friend. The first day of school I was like a fat person at a bulimics anonymous meeting. I stood out, I was new, I was unknown, and I felt like everyone’s eyes were on me, though in reality no one was looking at me, I was being ignored. Everyone was chatting with their friends discussing their summers, and I stood there alone.

I wanted to make friends, but I didn't know what to say to these kids, I never had to make friends before; this I think led to my slacking in my classes. I was so concerned on trying to make friends other than Mike; it distracted me from my school work. Not to mention on top of struggling to fit in, I was being bullied. It wasn't even a cool popular kid doing the bullying, it was some nerdy kid, who probably wasn't very popular and was trying to bully me to make himself look cooler. Mike and I stopped that noise quickly; it’s amazing what a couple nicely landed fists could do to bully preventing. These kids these days should try it instead of whining about it, but that's a different blog all together (idea!! Coming soon). I wasn’t being bullied anymore but I still had very few acquaintances. (I think it was this struggle that made me realize later in life that it’s better to have a few great friends that are always there for you than it is to have a lot of friends)

My grades slipped faster than Michael Jackson's hand down Macauly Culkin's pants. I was failing English and math. It was only the second semester and I was failing. What would they do with me? Into resource classes I went. One day I was in normal classes the next I was in special education classes, now that's a huge help on my friend making process. They may as well have just put a giant L on my head and a kick me sign on my back and save me the embarrassment.

"Oh hey Dan where were you in class"

"I'm no longer in that class, I'm now in class with the kid who still eats glue and the other kid who puts his bugers in his hair."

Now it was even harder on me to be put in special-ed classes for English than for math, I always loved writing, it had always been my Passion. I remember when I was a young tot I would write my own sports newspaper, It wasn’t very good but I loved it. It was so much fun to take my words and create something others could enjoy. Being placed in this class was like they took my Passion and Abraham Lincolned* that shit. I never wrote for fun anymore, I thought I was actually retarded; I thought I could never be a writer because I couldn't even survive in normal level classes.

I wanted to return to normal level classes, I wanted to stop feeling inferior to everyone. My return to normal English classes was a long way from the 6th grade. I was stuck in these classes for the remainder of middle school, and my love for writing drifted further and further away each year it came to a point where I hated English class and I didn't want to write at all. I was the 2008 Detroit Lions: completely defeated.

Part 2 High School, coming soon.


Glossary

Abraham Lincolned- To be killed, or destroyed by someone without warning.