I hopped off the big yellow monster, butterflies roaming my stomach. I hobbled up the cobblestone steps that so many kids had used many years before my time. Opening the door, I felt a rush of air blast my face as the air conditioning sent my hair into a mess of tangles. It was August 31, 2008. My first day of middle school. To me I was a big boy now; but to my mom and to my family I was still their little baby. Little did I know the challenges that lie ahead of me.

I slowly meandered throughout the corridors of the building until I came upon my homeroom. Team A, room number 123. Now, not that I knew what the heck a homeroom was, but I just played along with everyone and acted as if I was totally ready for middle school. Although, that was honestly not the case. I heard my mom’s voice in my head saying, “You’ll do great honey!” But what I also heard was my pessimist side saying, “You are not ready for this, you might as well go home you failure”. Honestly, I had no idea what to expect. I walked into homeroom, finding that the only child that I knew was Annamarie Acciarino. This frightened me, and I started to get very doubtful of the upcoming year. Would I make friends? Would I fail any tests? Would I be considered a nerd?

The bell rang to signal the end of homeroom and the second that I walked out of the hallway I was immediately smushed by hundreds of children walking throughout the same hallway. I signaled for my friend Nick Nardone. “Is this how it always is?” I asked. “DUH!” he responded mockingly. I eventually found my first period class, Ms. Pine’s language arts. All of these big subject names like, “Family and Consumer Sciences”, and “Transition to Pre Algebra” sounded so hard that I wanted to just crawl up into a ball and lie there all day. But I didn’t, and that is where my story begins.

I decided, as I stepped into class, that every chance that I got to answer a question I would take. I would raise my hand, be respectful, and make this teacher think, “Wow, this kid is great!” and that is exactly what I did. Against my better judgment, I volunteered even If I didn’t know the answer; I took unnecessary notes, and became an absolute teacher’s pet. I didn’t care, though. As long as I was getting A’s, I was happy with myself. I continued through the year with a determined mindset. I pushed and pushed in every class and followed the habits as much as I could. Ignoring distractions and jotting down notes, I aced quiz after quiz. One after another they came, high honors, high honors, high honors, high honors. Student of the term, student of the month. Everything I did I strived for perfection. I ignored the fears and concentrated on the positive in everything. If I had a big homework assignment, I would say to myself, “You’d better get it done or else you’re a failure”, as well as many other things that I will most likely not mention due to the fact that I would like to keep my B+ in this class. But anyway, that’s not the point.

I strove for accuracy in everything, pushed myself to the limit, and outdid myself for the first time in my eleven year old life. That year, I adapted to the woods lifestyle. I was involved in a few after school activities, and heck, I even messed up my schedule at least fifty times. But, as Mrs. Rembish says, “It’s good to fail!” and that is exactly what I did.