by Heather Moores

Created on: March 12, 2009

I received my first paycheck when I was sixteen. I was a Junior at St. Mary's School, a private catholic high school, and I absolutely loved it there. However, my parents fell on hard times financially and they informed me that I was going to have to go back to public school because they simply could not afford the tuition any longer. I went into major panic mode and hit the streets to hunt for my first job. I was willing to work anywhere. Just the thought of going back to public school was all the motivation I needed.

I had gone to public schools until the beginning of my sophomore year. I had always had a terrible time getting along with others. I was just different from everybody else and I felt those differences on a daily basis. I became the brunt of constant ridicule and abuse from my classmates and I was very unhappy most of the time. My parents could not figure out why I had such a hard time making and keeping friends.

I was always the smallest child in my class and I was painfully shy. I often got treated like a little baby. I recall one day during P.E., we were playing kickball. I stepped up to home plate and kicked the ball as hard as I could. One of the girls actually grabbed my hand and "ran" me to first base as if I was incapable of doing it myself! The rest of my class howled with laughter and I was so embarassed I wanted to crawl under a large rock and just disappear.

The school administration decided it was time to have me evaluated by a child psychologist. They actually told my parents that I might have some form of mental retardation. The whole situation was unbelievable and my classmates had a field day with me when they found out. The psychologist evaluated me and found me to be brilliant and he told my parents to get me out of that school immediately. He felt that the school was trying to destroy me and my parents were beyond furious. I transferred to another grade school the very next day.

I fared better at my new school but I was still picked on much of the time. We moved to California at the beginning of middle school and I made some really wonderful friends but the popular crowd still had alot of fun at my expense. I couldn't seem to escape mean people. Everyone knows how cruel children can be to each other and I have had way too much experience with that.

Unfortunately, we moved back to Oregon just in time for me to start high school. The only reason that I was not made fun of in any way, shape, or form was due to my older brother, Ryan.

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