My last year in middle school has been filled with many challenges and new experiences. It has given me more opportunities to learn about myself and to work on my creativity. This year, I have made new friends, joined fun clubs, and learned more about myself and topics I never thought I would understand or be interested in.
Since I was homeschooled for the first two years of middle school, I didn’t know what it was like and was nervous to start the year. At first, I was put in on-level classes and as soon as I was starting to learn my classes and adapt to them I was moved. I was changed to Encounters and advanced classes. This made me even more nervous and I didn’t know what to expect from them or if I would do well. Thankfully, I've made friends who have helped and guided me through the year.
I was also able to join fun clubs with some of my friends. I joined the anime club in the middle of the first semester and although I don’t commonly watch anime, some of my friends convinced me to join. It’s been really fun because we’ve been able to go on a lot of field trips and have been able to spend time together. Another club that I joined was esports. In this club, we would go in the morning on Wednesdays to play video games such as Mario Kart, smash bros, and many others. These clubs have helped me expand my interests and have even helped me socialize with people that I never thought I would be friends with.
This year I was also able to work on learning more about subjects that I could have done better at before. For example, a subject that I used to struggle with was social studies. It was challenging for me to retain the information that my old social studies teacher would teach and I couldn't learn much. Thankfully, the strategies that my eighth-grade social studies teacher has taught us this year have been beneficial. I was able to get a masters on the mock STAAR because of these strategies.
I have made a lot of incredible memories in 8th grade and I have learned so much. Although I will miss a lot from my 8th-grade year, I'm also excited to move on to high school, make new memories, and learn a lot more about my interests. I will always cherish the memories I have made this year and hope to create new ones and learn more in my first year of high school.
Small Sweet Moments
I am from sweet steaming coffee cups and freshly baked bread
From dolls and action figures that were scattered and lost in the backyard
I am from loud laughter in the living room and small sarcastic yet sweet comments
And from treating others the way that you want to be treated
I am from the front porch tree I was never able to climb
Whose bark scraped my hands when I was first learning
I am from going to small cafes and parks with my siblings
And listening to Norteñas and Spanish love songs on my brother's phone
I am from Domingo and Rosenda
And from tamales and posole for those rare family gatherings
I am from those moments when there was a midnight sky
Where we were running, smiling and laughing together for the last time