The Story of an Awkward Child

So.. I've been thinking. In order for people to want to follow me, and read my blog, they need to know a little about me....

So why not start at the beginning?

I'm originally from Arkansas. Flippin, Arkansas... Yes, I'm from Flippin, Arkansas. I have two brothers, I'm the oldest.

I was always an awkward girl in school, and I didn't make friends easily. One of my earliest memories from kindergarten in Arkansas was me accidentally kicking one of my more popular classmates in the face.

In the mornings, when we would arrive at school, my class, and other classes were sanctioned off in the gym on different colored mats. The kind that gymnasts use. Ours was a blue mat (our class was the blue class, we all had blue backpacks with our names, and blue ribbons that we had to wear, in case we were separated from our class). This more popular girl and I decided to play horsey, and I was performing my best back leg horsey kick. Finally my chance to fit in! Until I felt my foot connect to something solid. I turn around and her nose is bleeding and her lip was busted. Blood was running down her face. I was blacklisted for my remaining time in Flippin Elementary, which actually wasn't that long, considering I moved around 3 or 4 months after to Texas.

From this time on, I was a student at Orangefield Independant School District. My first day at Orangefield Elementary did not go so well. I arrived, and was frightened. As a child, I was painfully shy, and I knew that chances were, I would be picked on, and not make any friends. My intuition was correct.

At the end of class, while we waited for the school buses, we lined the hallways. I hugged my big blue backpack with my name on it. It smelled like home, and that's where I wanted to be. I noticed a girl across the hall was looking at me. It was a girl from my class.... Hmmm, what was her name? I couldn't remember. She just kept looking at me. I didn't know what was wrong... Was there something on my face?! Then she spoke up.

"Are you a boy?" she asked?

"NO!" I replied, confused as to why she would even ask this.

"Well," she says, as she raises her eyebrow, "your backpack is blue. Blue is a boy's color, so you must be a boy."

She then told everyone down the hall that I was a boy, not a girl. Everyone began to laugh as tears sprang to my eyes. I remembered her name, Ramona(name has been changed).

From then on, I was teased quite a few different times, to the point of tears, until I realized I was a loner. I didn't really have any friends, and I didn't really need them. I had a great imagination, and I was happy for the most part.

I didn't really make any real friends until the fourth grade, and it was definitely not because of any help from the teachers (I have another story I will be posting soon about a 1st grade incident where my teacher mortified me in front of all my classmates, and that sealed the deal for me not making friends).

In fourth grade, everyone in the class was paired up. Girls next to girls and boys next to boys. Except for me. I was next to a very shy quiet boy, who was pretty nice, actually, but still I was an outcast. One day, about halfway through the year, a new girl came to our class. She was a chubby little thing, and so cute! She had the curliest hair you had ever seen, and the teacher paired her up with me! Her name was Rachel (this is her real name, we are still friends, and I'm sure that she wouldn't mind me using it).

I was SO excited! This was my chance to make a friend who had not been influenced by others to think I was uncool! Until of course, Angelique (again name is changed) spoke up. She tried to monopolize Rachel's lunch time, asking her all sorts of questions about her school, and telling her all the cool and uncool things to do at our school.

We went back to class, and I was beginning to think that my fragile chance at making Rachel my best friend had shattered. We partnered up for an art assignment, and Rachel and I had some time to talk. We made up cartoon characters to popular songs, I guess parodies, I don't really technically know how to explain what we decided to do. Rachel started to draw some sort of triangle, and I told her it resembled a Nacho chip. And she told me to draw something on the triangle, so I drew some eyes and a mouth. She drew arms and legs. We called him Nacho Man. And then, of course we had an epiphany (the only sort you can have when you are 9 years old)! Nacho man sounds like Macho Man (does anyone actually remember the song, Macho Man by the Village People??) to us, this was hilarious. We began laughing so hard that tears came to our eyes as we sang, "Nacho, Nacho Man! I want to be a Nacho Man!" and until our teacher threatened to separate us.

At recess, Angelique walked up to Rachel and informed her of the most uncool thing to do at Orangefield, befriending me. Apparently, they (Angelique's followers) were willing to forgive Rachel for this innocent oversight.

Rachel, turned and looked at me and looked at Angelique, and then looked at me again. "It's ok," I muttered, "you can be their friend if you want."

Rachel turned back to Angelique, and to this day, I cannot ever remember a time when I was so surprised by such a mature decision from a 9 year old.

"She seems nice, and she's funny. I'm gonna be friends with her. If you don't want to be friends with us, then you're a butthead."

Immediately thereafter, Angelique told our teacher that Rachel called her a butt-head and Rachel was reprimanded, but it wasn't too severe/

To this day, Rachel and I are still friends. She is an amazing girl, and a steadfast friend through thick and thin.

For now, I need to retire for the night, but I will attempt to post again tomorrow about Junior High adventures, and maybe even my 1st grade teacher incident.

Thanks!