Standing on middle ground

Middle school is an awkward era for everyone, riddled with puberty, poor fashion sense and makeup two shades too dark. The boys were weird and confusing, the girls rude and intimidating. I hated feeling like a teenager while being treated like a child. The tests grew more and more intense, and new-found responsibility hit me like a tidal wave.

Possibly the worst part was that I didn’t know who I was. I got lost in the crowd, never participating in anything after school or making a name for myself. I didn’t have a favorite type of music or strong opinions of my own.

High school may not seem like time of our lives as we’re experiencing it, but personally, it’s an improvement from junior high. I know who my friends are and I’ve made many new ones. I can stand up for what I believe in. Maybe this is all thanks to those awkward, smelly, puzzling years I spent at Kennedy Junior High School (KJHS).

To see if my memories of middle school are tarnished or hold true, I went back. For a day, I followed the life of my sixth-grade brother.

The first thing I learned returning to KJHS as a sophomore is that it is still terrifying walking into a room of strangers. My first day of sixth grade in Aug.2011 began with walking into a sea of kids in the multipurpose room. I was promptly terrified, as I only knew a few people. I rushed to find my friends and sit down next to them.

In March 2016, however, the fear was slightly heightened because the only person I knew was my 12-year-old brother standing at my side.

The looks I got from the other sixth graders weren’t as bad as the ones from the “popular” girls in 2011, but I still felt nervous and strange. I found that 12-year-olds are very vocal when confused, as I got a lot of “who are you?” and “why are you here?” Apparently my sticker didn’t get across that I am “Julia Donofrio, Visitor.”

Sitting in the multipurpose room before school, what struck me as most strange was that nearly every kid had an iPhone. I expected the teachers to rush over and discipline those who held them as they did when I was in middle school, but apparently the rules have changed. In 2011, I would’ve done anything to listen to Katy Perry’s new song on my iPod at school.

All kids say weird things. What’s said in middle school hallways is definitely not as vulgar as what’s shouted during high school passing periods, but the comments were still pretty strange. My personal favorite was “Everybody eat this tape!”

Watching the physical education class made me so thankful for high school P.E. The daily warm ups included running, push ups, sit ups and burpees. The memories of weekly “cardio days” surfaced and I couldn’t help but shudder. Students do a variety of running activities, one of the worst being the baton relays in the sweltering, massive field behind the school.

In the midst of thanking the P.E. gods that my days of running to my death every week are over, I discovered something else I’m grateful for. As a middle schooler, I thought the KJHS gym was huge, until I saw Naperville North’s athletic complex. The sheer size of the athletic and music wings at NNHS show how many different opportunities students have to be involved in the school community. Nearly every person can find their place thanks to the countless opportunities provided–everything from Harry Potter club to show choir to football. I realized I felt more lost in the KJHS crowd of 900 than I did in the NNHS crowd of 3,000.

Despite the “cardio days, confusion and awkwardness, KJHS prepared me well for high school. The teachers put in a lot of effort to make sure absent students were caught up. Matt Horan, a social studies teacher, set up a meeting with a girl who was absent so they could talk about what she missed. If I wasn’t taught the importance of making up work, I would be doomed in high school.

Students were also rewarded for interesting comments, right answers and good questions, which associated positivity with hard work and thoughtfulness. In the language arts class I attended, the teacher discussed how to research properly, with focus on quality sources and narrowing or broadening topics. These are vital skills that high schoolers quite often forget in the midst of stress and exhaustion.

Most importantly, kids asked many questions out of pure curiosity rather than concern about getting a good grade on the test. We’re so focused on percentages that we often forget to actually learn.

After my visit to KJHS, I have opened my eyes to the daily excitement that comes with being a high schooler. There is more freedom at NNHS–we don’t have to wait to be dismissed from lunch and we are allowed to use our phones throughout the school day. Teachers are also more genuine and open with us–they treat us like more like adults . After coming home from my visit to middle school, I watched all the Snapchat stories of the funny, crazy, entertaining things that happened throughout the day at NNHS, and I realized I missed out. Both middle and high school are full of life, but the school pride, spirit days and overall knowledge and maturity of high school students make the four years quite memorable.

On top of being a wake up call to appreciate my high school days, my visit to KJHS was also a reminder of the good that came out of middle school. Not everyone has the time to physically revisit a piece of their past, but reflecting on your history can  provide a clearer path into the future. Spending a day in familiar classrooms amongst tweens snacking from mom-packed brown bag lunches provided me with something greater than nostalgia: an understanding of not just where I came from, but where I’m going.