You Gotta Kik?

You’re lying in your bed, listening to 5 Seconds of Summer on your iPod Touch. You just finished browsing Omegle, and open up Kik to see a message from your best friend: “will u wear a skirt w me tmrw?” Quickly, you type back “sure J” and run into your closet to find the perfect outfit with Silly Bands to match.

Tomorrow is a big day- you have to present your history project in front of the whole class, which includes your crush. You set your alarm for 5:45, which gives you an hour to get ready before you have to catch the bus.

When you get to school, the halls smell like Old Spice. You gather your friends and start walking laps while discussing the latest AskFM drama. You’re late to class, and get a lunch detention.

That, my friends, was my everyday life in middle school (minus the lunch detentions, I was a good noodle). I was the epitome of a middle school girl- I cared too much about social media, was boy crazy, and dressed like a walking Justice ad. Not to mention, I had the worlds ugliest side bangs.

Honestly though, who wasn’t a weirdo in middle school? The class of 2019 may be normal now, but, in some way or another, we were all odd back in the day.

Take senior Evan Quinn, for example.

“I was the one kid with stupid glasses and spiky hair that would ask you if you had games on your phone,” said Quinn.

Quinn seems like your average high school boy, but if you knew him in middle school you’d be creeped out of your mind.

“I used to run up to every high schooler and scream ‘hi teenager,’ thinking I was cool,” said Quinn.

I’m too afraid to even make eye contact with middle school boys, so if one ran up and said hi to me out of the blue, I’d probably cry. Hell is middle school boys.

But, Quinn isn’t the only one who did cringey things in middle school- we all have our fair share of stories.

Personally, I can look back at my past and name many, many terrible stories. I was a “female dog” in middle school, and used to start stupid fights all the time.

In eighth grade, I tried to fight Alyssa Ripper. Now, if you know Alyssa, you know she’s the sweetest, kindest, nicest person in existence. She wouldn’t hurt a fly, and yet, I tried to knock her out over an eighth grade English project.

“I regret getting into a fight with Mackenzie- we stopped being friends for a hot while all over some newspaper themed English project,” said Ripper. “But now, she’s one of my best buds and actually writes for the school newspaper, so I guess everything happens for a reason.”

Ripper is another prime example of someone who has changed completely since middle school.

“I like to think that I glowed up, but in reality I just started presenting myself more age appropriately,” said Ripper. “I used to walk around in cringey narrow glasses and Justice shorts, yet I thought I was edgy because I listened to indie bands.”

We’ve all been there- thinking we’re the coolest 13 year old around, when in reality we smell bad and don’t know how to blend our eyeshadow yet.

Looking back on my middle school days, I have to say, they were rough. I mean, just look at me! Who let me look like that?

On the first day of sixth grade, I looked like an absolute clown. My brother had to bully me so I’d stop wearing blue eyeshadow and start to act normal. At first, I was really mad at him for making fun of me, but, if it weren’t for him, I would probably still look like a 1980s fitness model.

I have to say, I’m actually thankful for my cringey days. If I never looked and acted the way I did, I never would have learned from my mistakes. Was I absolutely bonkers? Yes. But, now I know exactly what I don’t wanna look like.

And, I’m not alone in this admiration of my middle school look.

“No, I don’t regret anything I did in middle school. If I didn’t do the things that I did, I wouldn’t be the person I am today,” said Quinn.

As gross and horrible as I was, now I have fantastic glow up pics. And, if I ever want a good laugh, I can just look at my achieved Instagram photos.

So, to all you middle schoolers out there, just keep being you. You may think you’re perfectly normal now, but in four years you’ll look back at yourself and hate everything you ever did.

Take it from Ripper: “Middle school me was annoying and a weirdo, but it made me the person I am today I guess.”