User blog comment:Forestpaw13/End of 8th Grade - Poem/@comment-1333071-20100626022359

My middle school experiences: (this is coming from a girl who has three days left and was kind of babied all throughout due to policies)

6th grade- despite being hung out to dry- was actually pretty cool. I mean, yeah, it's new. And yeah, it's a big school, with big people surrounding you. And yeah, you kind of have to stand on your toes to reach the top of your locker. But it was a blast. You meet a whole bunch of new people you like, and a whole bunch of people you hate.  However, there are some disadvantages. You might have to navigate your way through halls and eighth graders. Tests actually count for something. You have to learn a whole bunch of numbers (examples: student ID number, locker combo and number, bus number (not route, DIGIT!), classroom numbers, the address of your school...), and some teachers are just plain mean. There's a clear division between "smart" and "stupid" because of classes you can take. But if everyone's made it that far, then they're not stupid.  Overall advice: make friends. Don't make choices based on prior friends or smartness or sports or whatever, because people change. My suggestion is to just sit down at someone's lunch table.

7th grade- like Arti said, you're stuck in the middle. Which means you're not technically a loser, but you're not scary yet, either. For me, 7th grade was just waiting. It was also the year that I was like, "Oh, wow, I'm used to middle school. Okay." I made a lot of my closest friends. You get a lot more privileges. In 7th grade, you kind of become the way you are all through the rest of the year and eighth grade. Disadvantages: not many from my experiences. You might have a new lock/locker. You'll definitely have new room numbers. Classes WILL be more advanced, and they CAN decide (if you do the right thing) what classes you'll take in high school.  Overall advice: Be yourself. Do well.

8th grade- It's (hopefully) your final year. You're big. You're scary. You're strong. You're smart. Do well.