by Lisa Linthicum

Created on: January 07, 2009

Ah, yes... the good old days of Junior High. My 7th, 8th and 9th grade years were not the most enjoyable. For some reason our school was a pressure cooker of sorts... tons of emphasis on looking just right, dressing a certain way and being a part of select athletic groups.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

My mom was a teacher at my junior high school and that added to my stress. She knew about my homework assignments and grades BEFORE I did. There's nothing like hearing your mom say, "Have you done your map of <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /

>Asia for Geography yet?"

A neighbor rode to school with my mom and me each morning. On several occasions her mom greeted us in the driveway telling us that her daughter would not be attending school that day because her hair had not curled the way she wanted it to. Seriously, folks - missing school over a misdirected curl or two!

Junior High was all about our fabulous football team. They ALWAYS went undefeated each season. Spirit Weeks were a blast. Even the teachers and coaches got into them. There's nothing like walking into Algebra Class and seeing your teacher wearing his best pajamas in honor of "Knock the Rams Out Day". Going to the games and cheering for our Cougars while munching on giant pretzels and M&M's (without gaining an ounce) is something I'll remember forever.

Junior High was definitely the age of raging hormones and trying to figure out boys while juggling the vicious, jealous nature of girls. One of my "friends" went around telling people to NOT vote for me for Student Council because I had a big nose. Whatever!

Then there were the joyous school dances. I absolutely hated most of them. I never seemed to have a boyfriend or date lined up when dances rolled around. I would have one break up with me right before a dance or have someone show up interested the day AFTER a dance. There were a couple of dances that I did have a boyfriend/date and those were pretty fun events.

Make-out Parties were all the rage for students at my school. I attended several - usually spending my time in the corner with friends giggling about "who was disappearing with who" to explore the glories of smooching and petting. It was always very interesting when the parents of the host made their brief appearances to offer snacks and beverages. Now that I'm a parent, I really scratch my head and wonder what they must have been thinking.

Junior High was definitely a challenging time in my life and I think it is for most kids. I'm thankful I can look back on a lot of my experiences and chuckle. I admit though that I still worry about the size of my nose thanks to the comment of my Junior High "friend".

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