Chapter 5: Middle School
Middle school is a little bit better. I actually remember people from that place. I was in the so-called "Pre-AP GT" classes, which meant very little. One important aspect was that if a person was in one of these classes then they were probably in them for all of their core classes. So I had pretty much the same people in most of my classes for all of middle school, which meant I had a pretty good group of friends. Extracurricular activities also started at this time. I, following in the footsteps of my brothers, joined the band. Unlike them, though, I chose a woodwind instrument. The musical device that was fated to be with me until this very day was the unassuming bassoon. If you don't know what a bassoon is it is a very large instrument with a very wide range. It is actually quite beautiful if one has skill. I do not. Skill requires practice, and I found practice to be incredibly frustrating. I always preferred hobbies that I found immediately fun, not ones that required countless hours of pain and annoyance for the ability to have fun, and then continued pain and annoyance to maintain that ability. I don't think less of anyone who thinks differently, in fact, most of my friends do. But even in middle school, I just couldn't feel that way. A lot of people are embarrassed by their middle school years, but I don't think they were so bad. I had very few actual responsibilities, some good friends, and the schoolwork was laughable. Who knows, maybe I'll look back at high school like this one day.