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The main thing I recall about middle school (also grades 6-8 for me) is not any one or few specific horrible incidents, but rather this general, constant state of low-grade terror - the feeling that at any moment, out of nowhere, someone could just start loving with you and there was nothing you could do about it. It seems that in middle school, if you are small, quiet, or awkward (and I was all 3), you were prone to becoming a target at any point, so you just tried to get through each day hoping that it was someone else and not you. I survived middle school mostly by learning to be invisible, essentially scrubbing myself clean of any visible signifier or personality trait that could possibly be latched onto as a target of ridicule. For the most part it worked, I was probably picked on less than most kids equally scrawny and socially inept as I was simply because I was so anonymous. Unfortunately, it became a bad habit that I carried with me into high school, college and my adult life, and has possibly cost me friends and professional opportunities throughout my life. So my only advice to anyone going into middle school now is not to let the specter of occasional bullying or ridicule completely shut you down, try to develop a personality and hobbies even if they sometimes make you a target.
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Aug 13, 2015 02:18
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| # ¿ May 3, 2024 04:11 |
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