This week we will begin to discuss more closely what it means to be a young adult and the characteristics of adolescent literature. Adolescent literature also known as young adult (YA) fiction is literature geared for audiences in the age range of 12-18 years old. According to the Exeter study, a successful YA novel "deals with emotions that are important to young adults." A strong YA novel should touch kids where they live and help them to maneuver through the difficult decisions that are part of growing up. With this in mind, reflect on your own experiences as a young adult, especially those middle school years that can be trying. What are some of your fondest memories of middle school? What are some of the worst memories? Reflecting back on those memories, what are some of the important themes, topics, concepts that you believe should be addressed in YA literature.
Middle school was more years ago than I care to admit so my memories will be less detailed than yours, but there are some things that do stand out. I remember feeling really scared my first day of 6th grade at the Junior High in Marshall, but I also remember feeling excited and more grown up since my mom let me wear lip gloss. I remember that this was a time for experimenting with hair, makeup and clothes, and trying to figure out who I was. Unfortunately, during the early 90's, some of the styles were not very attractive. Imagine thick teal eyeliner. I remember my friend's father telling us that we looked like we had mold growing on our eyes.
My middle school years were also a time that helped to construct some of the values/morals that I still believe in today. One night during my 8th grade year, my parents came into my room and woke me in the middle of the night. Their faces were angry and I was startled, fearful and unsure of what was going on, but I knew it was going to be bad. They asked me if I had been shop lifting with my friend or knew that my friend was shoplifting. I quickly told them that I wasn't involved, but unfortunately, I did know that it was going on. My friend just that day had told me what they had done and asked if I wanted them to "pick up" anything for me. My parents were fairly strict and saw my knowledge of the events as an implication of guilt so even though I did not participate, I was still in trouble. However, being in trouble wasn't the part that hurt the most. The part that was devastating was the betrayal I experienced. My friend had told her parents that I had given her the idea and told them to go and steal things for me. Basically, when the store caught her she told her parents that I put her up to it so she wouldn't get into as much trouble. To this day, I suspect that her parents still think that I was the one who instigated the stealing. However, my parents supported me and believed I was telling the truth. Of course, they pointed out that if I had told them right away, I never would have been blamed for it in the first place. This was a tough lesson to learn.
Middle school was more years ago than I care to admit so my memories will be less detailed than yours, but there are some things that do stand out. I remember feeling really scared my first day of 6th grade at the Junior High in Marshall, but I also remember feeling excited and more grown up since my mom let me wear lip gloss. I remember that this was a time for experimenting with hair, makeup and clothes, and trying to figure out who I was. Unfortunately, during the early 90's, some of the styles were not very attractive. Imagine thick teal eyeliner. I remember my friend's father telling us that we looked like we had mold growing on our eyes.
My middle school years were also a time that helped to construct some of the values/morals that I still believe in today. One night during my 8th grade year, my parents came into my room and woke me in the middle of the night. Their faces were angry and I was startled, fearful and unsure of what was going on, but I knew it was going to be bad. They asked me if I had been shop lifting with my friend or knew that my friend was shoplifting. I quickly told them that I wasn't involved, but unfortunately, I did know that it was going on. My friend just that day had told me what they had done and asked if I wanted them to "pick up" anything for me. My parents were fairly strict and saw my knowledge of the events as an implication of guilt so even though I did not participate, I was still in trouble. However, being in trouble wasn't the part that hurt the most. The part that was devastating was the betrayal I experienced. My friend had told her parents that I had given her the idea and told them to go and steal things for me. Basically, when the store caught her she told her parents that I put her up to it so she wouldn't get into as much trouble. To this day, I suspect that her parents still think that I was the one who instigated the stealing. However, my parents supported me and believed I was telling the truth. Of course, they pointed out that if I had told them right away, I never would have been blamed for it in the first place. This was a tough lesson to learn.
I remember middle school very well. I went to Marshall Area Christian School, and my dad was my teacher. First of all having a dad as a teacher was embarrasing just because I was in middle school... now however I would love to have my dad as a teacher again. Anyways, I remember talking in the back corner with my friends "trying" to hide from my teacher in order to get a little bit more time to gossip about the erelevencys of sixth grade. I remember stupid girl fights about which boy was cuter. I played basketball and volleyball and I remember being really uncordinated and wishing that I was the best player, but I was in the stage where as a young girl coordingtion and logical thinking was lacking greatly. I remember playing jump rope on the play ground in fifth grade and then in eighth grade being way to cool to even think about using a jump rope. Middle school was a time of change for me and I can gladly say that I have grown out of alot of these things and today I am a completely different person. However, I am glad these things happened because now I can look back at my middle school years and have something to laugh about, and the memories I have from middle school they wont go away. They will always be something that my middle school friends and I can laugh at all the stupid dramas (which there was lots of) and funny memories.
ReplyDeleteIn middle school I had some awesome advisories. We were with them every morning and they were always fun to be with. My 7th and 8th grade advisors were both gym teachers. We met in other rooms other than the gym, but since we were with the gym teachers we always got to go down on Friday mornings and play in the gym. It was always fun because some of my best friends were in my advisory. We would play so many different things, basket ball, hockey, and even volleyball if the nets happened to be up. Those were some of the best times was just being with fun people and enjoying our time.
ReplyDeleteI was an 8th grader when I had learned about the Lakeview bus accident. My mom being a teacher over there I had gotten to know a few of the kids. I knew both Emily and Reed who died on the bus that day. I remember going to school the next day and we had a moment of silence during first block, and I just broke down crying. I felt so helpless and I didnt know what to do. I went down to the counslers office and I talked for at least an hour. A statement that people say a lot is "You never know what you have got until its gone." I find that to be so true. That was the first real time that I felt like an adult dealing with adult problems. I had never had to really grieve before and that was a tough thing to deal with. I think until you are put into that situation, you will never know what it is like.
Ah middle school, that brings back some terrible memories. Naturaly not all of them were bad but I guess I just remember the ones that were. The number one thing I do remember about it though was the bullying. I'm not talking about verbal, tough it out and get over it, bullying here either; I mean flat out physical fighting bullying. That's why I loved my books so much. My books at the time stressed the whole good triumphs over evil thing, and in my oppinon that never gets old.
ReplyDeleteI know that middle school wasn't that long ago, but I really don't remember it. I have a really bad memory. It's kind of sad. I remember I was friends with almost everyone. Back in middle school I wasn't quite as angry as I am now. I didn't judge people and I got a chance to know them. Now that I am in high school it's a different story. I don't know if it's just all of the experiences that i've had to go through while in high school or what. I really wish I could go back to middle school. Back then no one really cared who you were or what you did. Once you got to school it didn't matter, we didn't judge, and no one got into fights. It was a huge eye opener when I got to HS. There were so many fights that happened. My little brother is in middle school now and I always tell him to cherish those moments because you really can't get them back. People are mean. It may not seem like it at the time, but peoples true colors start to come out.
ReplyDeleteIn my time in middle school I remember being around my friends a lot and playing a lot of sports with them. My favorite memories of middle school was all the sports I played with all of my friends and being around them almost every day. I also remember one of my good memories coming on the farm when as I was growing older and being more able to do a lot of the things I saw my brother and dad doing. But then again a lot of my bad memories have come on the farm weather it would be fighting with my dad or breaking something and feeling horrible about it for a day or two. The farm is what I feel really made me grow up and become very mature and serious about things.
ReplyDeleteKyle Verdoes
Mallory Pietz
ReplyDeleteMiddle school was not very fun for me. I was very awkward, in every way possible. Friends were very important to me. I remember wanting as many friends as possible. I was fairly close to my parents in middle school but I never wanted to go places in public with them. I actually remember making my mom drop me off as far away from the main entrance as she could. In middle school I started to think boys were really cute. I would get nervous around them and make a fool out of myself. My friends and I would always claim we had boyfriends, even though they were just our friends. I was in dance in middle school and I remember many embarrasing things happening to me. I was so uncordinated and didnt know how to control my muscles. Throughout middle school I learned the importance of family and I found out who I really wanted to be.
Middle school feels like an eternity ago. I attend a private school which in many ways limited my life experinces. I was in a class of 10 students so it also limited my social skills in some ways. I quickly discovered that being involved in activites outside of my school such as, JO volleyball, summer volleyball, and track, helped me to develop my experiences. Since there were so few students in my class everyones personality was quite evedent. I was had two best friends which got in quite a bit of trouble with me. The about of drama that can be in such i small school you think would be limited, you would be gravely mistaken. IT WAS HUGE!! I remember on time my class went to sing to the old people for the Christmas season, and my and my friends decided that gooving off was a better idea then acting with proper manners, and etiquette. Our princple was not about to let us get way with that so we got "written up" which was basically a permit mark on our naughty record. I think hat YA liturature should be fun, it should give young audlts imagination and creativity. It shouldnt so much focus on the principles of life. Children get enough of that as they are forced into the reality of life in High School. With that said I think it should also give children fundimentals to survive.
ReplyDeleteSome of my fondest memories were during these years. At good ol' Holy Redeemer School, it seemed like there was always fun to be had. Middle school at HRS meant "upstairs." We packed up our things and were now the big kids of the school, having all of our classes on the second floor. This was big back in the day! We started to build frienships and grow into young adults, some more than others.
ReplyDeleteIn middle school, my number one way of communication MSN Messenger. I'm pretty confident in saying that everyone had MSN. Before getting our cellphones, MSN was the bomb. I swear this is how I ran my life; posting embarrassing lyrical statuses, waiting for friends to get online; and sending the infamous emoticons that everyone enjoyed. This was the best and worst of middle school. I remember many conflicts erupting via MSN, this was probably the basis of cyberbullying, at least we were the founders.
All in all, we were growing up in this time. In YA literature, probable themes should concentrate on finding yourself and learning how to get along with one another. If these books could help some kids transition into adolescence that would probably have many kids thankful.
Finally, my HRS times were the glory days of my education. I find myself wishing to go back, a lot!
HOLY ROLLERS 4 LIFE
Even though middles school was only 5 years ago it is still a blur to me. I moved here at the end of 7th grade so i spent most of my time trying to make friends and never really had any close friends until the end of 8th grade year. The move was really tough on me as my family name was well known in Ivanhoe. I was always the most popular kid in a grade of 30 so moving to where we have 150 kids in a grade and no one knows you is pretty hard. On top of that my family was going through a rough time. Also my Aunt and Uncle just died and my parents decided to adopt their kids which was hard on me and my sisters. I usually do not like to reflect on these days to often. If there is one thing i can take out of my middle school years is all the great friends i eventually made. Even though at the time it was hard, I'm very glad that we moved.
ReplyDeleteMemories were different for everyone. Some of the good ones for me were being around friends and having fun in sports. Gym was also fun because we played different games that i liked. Some of the bad memories were when i joined wrestling and it was really hard. I was sore for a while after it started because it was an intence workout. I didnt like it at all and i wanted to quit but i said to myself dont quit so i didnt. Some different themes that I think should and are adressed in YA literature include being with firends and school. Both of these can teach a lesson and can help kids learn from them.
ReplyDeleteMiddle school was good and bad, there was a lot of growing up to do than. Learning when to belive what someone said and when not to. There was a lot of gossiping during this time and a lot of rumors. But there were also good times, all the sleep overs and movie's! there was always somthing to do with freind's. But most of all I remember being so worried about what you looked like! Seriously I remember planning the night ahead what you would be wearing the next day, and if you were going to dress up with a freind calling them/ texting which I had just got in 7th grade making sure they remembered! You would always check with freinds to make sure you looked ok and would go to the bathroom for make-up checks once every block even though all you were wearing was eye liner and mascara ha.
ReplyDeleteFor everyone middle school was a little different, but mot people from the same school often remember some of the same memories. These memories may be good for some and also bad for others, but no matter what it is still a memory that some people will remember and bring with them. For me I remember many good and bad memories about middle school, for example I remember when we had gym class at HRS, we would always play our favorite game, dodge ball. Now that I look back on this one activity I realized is not the actually activity that makes the situation fun, but it is the people that you do this activity with. Another memory that I remember is when we our class went on a class trip to camp, and spent the entire week doing absolutly nothing besides having fun. Some other memories in middle school that where not as fun as gym class, would be like when you get home from school and feel completely over loaded with homework, but now that you look back at it, it was not even a big deal.
ReplyDeleteFor me middle school was exremely laidback. In 7th grade I had easy classes and it went fast. I was actually in football that year with a few of my friends. Between school, practice, and then most likely hanging out with my friends we stayed busy. After that school year we had had the brilliant idea to go corn detasseling to make some cash. It was a crappy job but it was money none the less. We got paid $7.25 an hour to sweat to death. We had to be at the pick up by 5 a.m. which meant for most of to get up at 4 a.m. This all lasted a little over a week until the bus broke down. How ever I was very fortunate to manage to break my arm and get workman's comp for it so I was happy. After that my 8th grade yaer was similar minus the football, until my dad lost his job. We managed to skim by for about a year and this lead to us moving my freshman year. Since then I have been through much worse and I still keep going. Family and friends are powerful things to have. Also you should be thankful for what you have it might be taken from you.
ReplyDeleteDuring my middle school years I had to meet alot of new people and gain alot of new friends. I had just moved from Willmar to Marshall and when I first came to school alot of people were interested in getting to know me after about a couple of weeks I eventually knew most of the people in my grade and started to get to know other people in higher and lower grades. I started with track and getting to know more people during that sport. During that time I eventually started pushing away my family as almost all Middle School kids do because they want to be all about popularity and such. Through this time though I realized that I shouldn't of pushed away my family just to be with my friends but make time for both.
ReplyDeleteI really don’t remember middle school at all. I have the worst memory ever. I barely even remember freshman year. I think that things like being true to yourself and all those cheesy but important concepts should be addressed.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed middle school, and have very happy memories of it. One of my favorite memories of middle school is playing golf and hunting for golf balls everyday, with Nate Berglind and Mitch Noyes. We played the game for the pure joy, with no pressure or emotional attachment at all, which is what the game should be like for all ages, and all levels! It is awesome to look back and have such fond memories of our summer afternoons looking for golf balls and then betting those balls on the putting greens during contests, it's something I truly will remember forever. Middle school didn't have a ton of bad memories in my mind, but I can think of one minor one. I something stupid (I wont say what), but I thought it was soooo much worse than it actually was. It would cause me to stay up late at night feeling of such stupidity and guilt, I told my Mom I felt so bad. She even said it was okay, but I didn't realize it! That's a bad memory, just for the sadness it caused me for that short time. An important theme that I think always needs to be adressed in YA literature is happiness! If your not happy doing something, don't do it. Life's too short not to be truly happy.
ReplyDeleteMiddle school was full of good times but yet some bad. I remember getting ready for middle school. I had to make sure my outfit was set out the night before. When I first got to middle school I was super nervous. After a while of being there things became a lot better. I remember sitting at the lunch table with my friends talking about our plans for the weekend because we were so excited,even though they weren't anything important. One thing I definately remember is how crazy my friends and I were back in middle school because at that time we didn't really care what people thought unlike now in highschool. Oh and you cant forget the middle school drama pretty much every girl went through, like fighting over who had a crush on who. Everyday I wish I could go back to middle school because things in general were so much easier than they are now.
ReplyDeleteMy middle school experience was a fun one at that, but it was a little different because how I spent it. My 5th and 6th grade years were spent in the faithfull community of Holy Redeemer. Which is diffrent from most middle schools because it consisted of religion classes everyday and 45 minute block classes.I sort of look back at how we got anything done , but I also look back and see that people in my school were fairly nice to everyone I respected the school for that. But, my 7th and 8th grade class I swapped over to public school and it turned out to be a good thing because I ended up making many friends and I knew just about everyone when I got into high school. If I had to make a YA novel and it have to deal with being social and expressing who you really were to find good friends. Plus, to not worry about what people say about you or let your emotions get the best of you.
ReplyDeleteDuring my years in middle school i remember many good memories for those days. The middle school years are the most crazy years of you life, you are maturing and learning tons of new things. Middle school for me was very fun, I had all my friends there to play sports and bike around town and just do whatever we wanted. Some of the best memories i have about middle school was all of us gathering at eastside and playing baseball games at the field. The bad memories I have about middle school is always messing around in class and getting in trouble. By messing around in class I didnt learn as much as i should have.
ReplyDeleteI hated middle school mostly because I hated the school and the principle, and the rules that came a long with her. The only thing i miss about middle school is the ease of it all. What i don't miss about it was all the drama and stupid boy issues my group of friends always had. My parents barley ever trusted me in middle school because i can say i was a pretty difficult little girl, and now that i've grown up and matured my parents trust me a lot more. Even though when you get to high school the judgemental rate rises, but if you are who you are, and they don't like you for that, they're not worth your time. nooooo worries :) be happyy.
ReplyDeleteIn my middle school years I attended Holy Redeemer School. I had a lot of great memories from going to this school. I am also thankful for all the awesome kids I got to meet. A couple of my fondest memories occured while on field trips. In 6th grade, our group went to Camp Foley. Camp Foley was an environmental camp that we attended for a full week. On the way up there, Haley and I belted out to the song lyrics of "Listen to Your Heart." Still today if the song comes on we sing just like we did on the bus. Also in 8th grade as a graduation celebration we as a class went to Valley Fair. This was my first time ever going there so I was excited. I went on a lot of rides with my friends. On one of them, Nate threw up on my foot! It was disgusting. Middle school wasn't always easy though because of the drama that took place. Looking back now on those days we often say "did we really fight about this?" or "that was so stupid." I think that everyone goes through the stupid drama during middle school. The one topic/theme that stands out to me with middle school is friendships. In middle school you deal a lot with friendships.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I think about my time during middle school, the only thing I remember is wishing I was not in middle school. I went to public school, so yes, the rules were extremely ridiculous, and yes, we did have a crazy blood-thirsty principal. To me the place resembled prison. Although I have never been in a prison, that is a little off of the point. Life was just way to strict for my liking. High school is much better because it has allowed me to spread my wings and fly.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of middle school I think of all the great memories I had at Holy. Having Mrs. Store as a subsitute teaching and glueing tooth pickes to the back of her cat sweaters. I also remember the guys making a fruit cup and hiding it in the boys bathroom. Going to school at Holy Redeemer was really fun and I'm glad i went to school there
ReplyDeleteReminiscing on my years at Holy Redeemer is always fun. Just thinking about it brings back many fond memories and of course the typical negative ones. Growing up as a Holy Redeemer student is something that I am very proud of. My pupils and I seem to be much closer knit than the public kids. I think it is because of all the time we spent together. One of my favorite memories was going to Camp Foley. Spending a week in the woods with all of my friends is something that I will remember for the rest of my life. My friends and I STILL talk about it once in a while at the lunch table.
ReplyDeleteMiddle school has a huge impact on the kind of person you will be in the future. You can tell which kids are going to be more successful just because they work hard at such a young age. Friendship is another important concept in middle school. I am still close with many of the kids I hung out with back then.
My middle school years i could say were great. I loved school it was my home away from home. I remember being shy, I still am but I have learned to speak out more to be more myself, to grow more interest in other things. I tried my hardest in school it was the most important to me. I had everything, a loving family who trusted me. Although my family may not be united as a whole right now I know we will all be together again like we used to be. I'm glad I have the support of all my family. I miss middle school they were the times that I had very little worry about boys, didn't have to worry about decisions that may impact my future, could run around and have FUN. Now as graduation is fast approaching I can't help but to wish if I could take back all those years and do it all over again, I don't regret the things that I have done in life, I've lived a great life and for that I thank God for. The memories are everlasting. I will miss school greatly.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say my middle school years were amazing, but I still had fun and can't complain. I remember walking around the old high school in 7th and 8th grade feeling so cool because I was the top of the school and it was the old high school.I remember classes weren't extremely difficult and most of them were fun. At that point in time I had no idea what my future would hold other than school and dance. I also remember my group of 5 friends. Although none of us are really friends anymore, and half of us have moved, we had some amazing times. I remember inbetween classes talking about our 'list'. Our list was about 10 boys that we liked. I can still remember some of the numbers on there. We all had our own number that we liked and some we shared haha. Friendship was extremely important to me, but I'm not sure I was in the best group. We were all extrememly judgemental and uncomfortable in our skin. It was kind of stressful and hard to be yourself until you were one on one. In 8th grade, I wasn't home much. Most of my memories outside of school involve being at my best friend's (at the time) house. I was never home because my parents were preoccupied with building their 'dream home'. All in all I don't regret anything, middle school was a wonderful learning experience.
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