I was reminded of this fact at today's open-house/schedule pick-up at school, during which I happened to be working in my classroom. As I watched the parents, students, and the occasional older sibling interact, the excitement and anxiety of the new 7th graders was palpable. Several students came into my room to say hello, clutching their schedules and school maps as if their lives depended on it. As they left again, I would often overhear the questioning parent: "OK, so what class is next?" The student would dutifully recite the next entry on their schedule, and together they would examine the map to figure out where to go.
Junior high is one of life's great shared experiences. No matter what sort of people we all grow up to be, everyone can identify with the awkwardness and adventure of adolescence. It's also one of the great levelers, like the old trick of picturing the audience naked in order to ease one's nerves. (Personally, that idea always creeped me out, so I opted for picturing them in chicken suits instead.) No matter how polished or powerful a person may appear in their adult form, they, too, were once a goofy junior high kid sporting big glasses, weird hair, and an oversize flannel shirt. (What, no one else thought it was cool to wear their dad's old flannel shirt during that whole fad?) Picture them carrying a Trapper Keeper and struggling to open their locker, and suddenly the world's greats don't seem so intimidating. It's basically the story of life, isn't it? Despite our differences of life, style, and station, when it comes right down to it we're all just children of God, trying to make our way through the halls of life.
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