Middle School Reflection Paper

But I excelled in the class, and I felt like I really could succeed in the one subject I had always dreaded. Even today, I fall back on the year that I learned I could succeed. I took theater that year. I had so much fun in the class, and I learned about Jaguar Players, something that would become really important later on. I also joined STEAM, and I got accepted into NJHS as well. The months flew by, and I finally settled into my new life in Arizona. Sixth grade was a really important time for me to build a solid foundation, academically and socially. I took advantage of the “pod-like” structure to secure my place in the middle school environment.

Entering ninth grade I still felt like a kid, my future career wasn't my top priority, but when I became an junior, I matured. Looking back at freshman me

Looming in front of me was something new, a fresh start. Despite being this, it seemed cold and trying, something that sent shivers down my spine. Mixed emotions of uncertainty and optimism had filled my first day of middle school; and as my final year is drawing to a close, I realize that this place-this transitional time in my life- is something that I never want to leave. I created a home away from home, and a family, over the short three years spent learning here. Each school year, from first to concluding, brought new experiences in which have altered my life. These are the things that I am hoping to carry over into high school-my next chapter. Every experience in which middle school has brought leaves me changed indefinitely, shaped for the future ahead.

As you grow, things as you know it begin to change. In elementary, you go at a certain pace and help is nothing, but a few seconds away. Education is handed to you at

The fifth grade school year ended very quickly, Mrs.Cullen retired, and my classmates and I moved on to the next chapter of our lifes, sixth grade. As the next school year arrived, I went about sixth grade the same way I had started about fifth grade, I had a ton of friends in my class, and I thought that sixth grade would be a walk in the park. My advisor was Mr.Ferry, and having to write about 1000 times I will not disrupt class, I finally began to approach sixth grade in a different way. In sixth grade I learned the importance of mindfulness, and doing what I loved from

8th grade was great I wasn’t the youngest, I was in the oldest grade. At this point I had middle school perfectly handled. Going to high school and being a freshman is terrifying you're the smallest you don’t know what a seminar B is and when you go to it. I loved middle school. I love high school; the only reason that I love it is because I have middle school to reflect off of. I have those experiences to help me have more. I use middle school to reflect and learn from everything that I did. I’m doing well in high school so far only because I have I have past experiences so that I can make choices that best benefit me now. Arnold Spirit from The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and the Narrator from “The Bass, The River and Sheila Mant” are reflective because they both took action while being unique making it much harder than necessary. At the end of it they learned a valuable lesson and made the best decision for themselves.

I remember when it was time to go from being a 12 year old 6th grader, to a 12 year old middle schooler with a lot more responsibilities than I was used to having. I had to make sure all my homework was done on time (It took me awhile to get the idea of no late homework hammered into my head), asked for help when I needed it the teacher wasn’t going to help as much as the elementary teachers would do unless I asked, with asking for help was a lot harder than I thought it would be everyone was confused too, after awhile the teacher finally got tired of running around the room jumping from student to student, marched up to the front of the class and wrote on the board of how to do a certain assignment.

Middle school is a big turning point in most students’ maturity, I believe. Especially 8th Grade, as you are finally leaving the Middle School building, and going on to High School with the mindset that you are almost an adult. Along the way, you learn to cope with many things, whether they be accomplishments or losses. In this entry, I am going to discuss what I did, as well as some thoughts on leaving 8th Grade.

Growing up is a journey we all have to travel. Everyone makes their own paths on an adventure of change. Along the way, the path will be beautiful and smooth-sailing, bumpy and rough, and sometimes conflict will appear out of the blue. At times forks in the road will show up and decisions must be made. Change is inevitable. Throughout a lifetime decisions made will be small and slight, or huge and major. It does not matter because one decision can change one’s path completely. Even the slightest change can make the difference. The decision could even be a change of hairstyle. A change in hairstyle could lead to a new fashion sense, to a new genre of music, to a completely new person. I myself have noticed many differences and similarities between my middle school self and now; and it is only the beginning.

I remember being an anxious eighth grader thinking about starting my freshman year of high school. We went from being at the top of the school to being at the bottom of a new one. All of our middle school teachers always told us about how our high school teachers wont “hold our hands” and how we will be on our own. Being in high school is completely different than being in elementary school and middle school. Its almost like each year we have more and more freedom but more responsibility.

When I entered middle school I was suddenly thrust into reality. Not only was I suddenly demoted from being one of the oldest and most experienced students at the school to a lowly first year. I no longer had the advantage of being in one class with the same set of classmates the entire day. Making friends was not a natural occurrence. The size of the

In my younger years of attending elementary school were always difficult. I was constantly moving schools I never had the opportunity to fully

Once I got into junior high, things got a little more momentous. All of the teachers started talking to us about college and how we needed to start getting serious about school and decide what we want to do with our life in the future. From English class to art class, we would read all day. We'd have books, lectures, instructions, descriptions, prompts, and rules to read. I figured that's

For four long years I felt as if my high school was in a different world in of itself. I had spent that time interacting with an extensive amount of groups, or “cliques”, and getting to know what they do. Through my experiences, I had begun to realize what made this “subculture” high school of sorts run like it did. High school is an incredibly dynamic time for people, and I had changed as a person dramatically from my freshman to senior year. Like many, my freshman year was quite awkward, as remnants of my middle school self remained with me. As time went on, how, I talked to more people and grew out of my passive and shy personality. This did not just randomly happen without reason though. I began to learn and realize who I was and whom I enjoyed talking to in school, which explained why I spent so much time socializing with multiple kinds and groups of people. Everyone’s concept of “normal” was different, and high school was where I learned that lesson and will never forget.

Everything is new here. The first conversation with my host family, the first dialogue with classmates at school, all those “first try” comfort me I'm on my way to grow up.