Middle School Terrors

                Walking down the school hallway is like walking down a fashion catwalk. All eyes are on you; you are constantly judged.  Girls are dressed in mini-skirts, with faces full of caked-on makeup, strutting their stuff in heels high enough to reach the sky. Guys are sporting ironed polo’s with shoes that seem to glisten. All of this is, of course, the best that money can buy.  Nothing less. Then, there is me and my ever so fashionable hand-me-down, faded clothes. I run through the hallways to prevent being crushed by one of those mile high heels…or the ego that goes with them. Welcome to my life.

                I never understood why designer clothes were so special. Apparently it is “fashionable” to wear shirts that do not fit, are embedded with repulsive amounts of perfume, and rip after one wash. Oh and not to mention triple digit price tags! Honestly don’t parents have something better to do with their money!

                I do feel a little left out though. No one notices you unless you are showing off a label. I am the outcast of my school because of what I wear! Or rather what I don’t wear! Your clothes are a symbol of wealth and status at school. If you don’t have the latest and greatest fashions, you are considered to be the scum of the earth.

I look up from up run one of my unfashionable dashes one day, and notice a bright neon poster.  “7^th Grade Dance this Friday! Come out and show your stuff on the dance floor!” Instantly my day becomes one million times better! I have never been to a real middle school dance before! This was the real deal! The epitome of 7^th grade existence!

The entire week was filled with chatter about who was dating who, who was going to the dance with whom, and who was wearing what. If only everyone could hear how ridiculous they sound! They constantly talk about the same things over and over again! It is always clothes, dating, clothes, girlfriends, clothes, clothes, boyfriends, clothes, and more clothes! I did my best to ignore it though; I could only think about the great time I was going to have on Friday!

The days ticked by ever so slowly, and day by day the “dance talk” steadily grew. I was getting ready to leave for the time of my life, when my godmother knocked on my door. She had an early birthday present for me.  I carefully unwrapped the bright packaging, and peeling back the layers revealed a designer box. My heart started pounding. I opened the box, and peered inside. It was a hot pink sweatshirt with hand-sewn flower stitching. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen! I couldn’t wait to show it off! It was my time to shine!

When I walked into the dance, the music was blasting loudly out of the DJ’s speakers. Everyone was having a great time. I slowly walked on the dance floor. All eyes turned to me and looked me up and down. You could cut the tension in the air with a knife. I stood quietly waiting for their approval. Then something amazing happened; they smiled at me! I had officially been accepted into their "invitation only" cult of coolness. I was overcome with joy! For once in my life I felt accepted and not invisible! I was middle school royalty!  Everyone thought that I was rich and powerful too!

I danced the night away with my newly found friends. I was having the time of my life, when I felt a chilling icy waterfall flow down my back. I turned around and saw that someone had spilt their drink all down the back of my special sweatshirt! Everyone stopped dancing and stared at me. They then started laughing hysterically! I never felt so embarrassed in my life! I ran out of the dance and never looked back. 

True friends would have never do that to me. No matter how hard I tried to fit in, people never accepted me. I stupidly changed myself to try to fit in to no avail. I learned one valuable lesson from this experience, even though I was teased for the remainder of my middle school career. You just have to be yourself and don’t change for other people. People will be people, and if they won’t accept you for who you are, then you shouldn’t waste your time.

My Childhood .vs. Huckleberry Finn's

              
               Everyone has their own unique childhood. Some though are more extreme and different than others. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the main character, Huckleberry has a very different childhood than the one I experienced.

               Huckleberry Finn is a very adventurous, rebellious, and outgoing young boy. He and his friend Tom Sawyer always want to be out in the world exploring and finding adventures. He is just like any typical boy that is about the age of 12. Despite this though, he had a very complicated childhood. For most of Huck's life, he actually thought that his father was dead, so he was raised by the local widow. She tried to form him into a prim and proper young gentleman to no avail. Huck was very wilderness-oriented and wanted to escape from all of the fancies of the widow's life. His father does mysteriously show up though, but he isn't a great person. His father is a drunk that beats and abuses Huck and doesn't really appreciate him in the way that a father should. He also ends up abducting him, locking him away in a cabin, and threatens to kill him. During all of this, Huckleberry just wants to be free. Free to explore, have fun, and just be a boy.

              My childhood was very different than Huckelberry's. I lived a very sheltered life in a small suburban neighborhood. My parents loved me dearly and treated me very well. I wasn't spoiled, but I did have a lot of nice things to do and play with. I would have never imagined leaving my family. I loved my life! I was raised to be a proper young lady, but I loved every minute of it! I loved wearing dresses and going to school, and my parents allowed my to be my own person and develop my own identity. I was very girly and loved everything pink and purple, but I also loved playing pretend and exploring. Even though I loved adventure, my idea of adventure was exploring the playground across the cul-de-sac or playing in the treehouse in my back yard. I loved pretending that I was in another world or that I was on a secret mission, but I would never have imagined running away from my family! I wouldn't even dream of entering the woods behind my house!
               As one can see, Huckleberry Finn and I both had very different childhoods. His was of adventure and drama, and mine was of love and happiness. Despite these differences, we both grew up and became great people.