"Reflection: 7th Grade" - October 14, 2008

Why 7th grade? Well, to be honest, I couldn't tell you. You all know me, I choose the most unusual times to be nostalgic, but it was one of the best times of my life, hands down, and really tends to be overlooked because it's in between two massive events that really altered my life forever. So it's like the cheese on a sandwich from Subway; you know its there, but you fail to recognize it because its inbetween the Hearty Italian bread and the meat. Cheesy analogy, eh? (pun TOTALLY intended :D)

So how did it all start? I moved out of Chicago on August 13, 2004 (we make note of that everytime that date passes), and started school about a week after I moved. If I could make a guess, and I'm not 100% positive, my first day at Taft (and at a different school for the first time in eight years) was August 21, 2004. It was tough, because I was coming off what could've very well been the best summer of my life, still in Chicago. Talk about a massive shift; moving from a school of 800 people to one of about 350. It was smaller, a bit of a dump (sorry Taft fans, I simply cannot lower my standards), and the people were...different. Was the difference in people necessarily a bad thing? Absolutely not. It was just a shift that, at that point in my life, I simply wasn't used to.

The people were nice, very welcoming, something I hadn't expected (simply because of my upbringing and the society I was surrounded by). Despite being a generally outgoing person, I was nervous as hell my first day there, and I think it could show. For Christ's sake, I didn't even know how to use the locks on the lockers, because for eight years of my life that was never a concern. So as I said, things were different, but it was an environment I could get used to real quickly.

I made some fast friends. Darren and Nicco, both Cubs fans (huge sigh of relief, because living on the South Side as a Cubs fan for twelve years ain't easy) who I'd generally talk baseball with. Leianne, Tiarra, and Kasey, who were in fairness the first people to approach me and really make me feel comfortable where I was. Then there was the person who I considered my best friend for two years, Roberta, who I honestly can't say the same about anymore. Not her fault, moreso mine, but more on that later. I developed a strong foundation pretty quickly.

So this is Autumn 2004, a time when one could proudly wear a Mark Prior 2003 All Star Game jersey without criticism, when people didn't want George Bush to serve a second term but really had no other choice, since his opposition was even worse (and yes, I am a Dem). My Cubs were closing out perhaps the most humiliating season I'd ever seen from them, whiniest and most pathetic group of professional athletes I'd ever witnessed. I also remember, almost every weekend, playing NFL 2K5 when I woke up to about 2 p.m., listening to either the Loop or a CD on my radio filling some time, very relaxing. I also became addicted to Family Guy very quickly, needed something to enjoy at 10:30 p.m. before heading to sleep (still an addiction). To be honest, it's really all I can remember about the time period, hah.

Anywho, time moves on, and things become more and more positive with people I'd become close to, some of which I'd considered best friends. I'd become attracted to Roberta, very strongly, one of the longest attractions to someone I'd ever had. You can't help who you like, which she understood, but I took that to an extreme I really shouldn't have taken it to. As soon as I got over it, things between her and I weren't the same. She'd suggest differently, but I never felt the same afterward, as if I screwed up the solid friendship we already had. They say "live life with no regrets," but sometimes you just do things you wish sometime down the road you can change. And the problem is, you can't. Maybe I'm being too hard on myself, but she was, and frankly still is, one of the most special people I've met in my life, and it's just difficult to swallow the fact that I handled that so carelessly at one point. It'd be nice to still be able to call her a "best friend," but things have just become to distanced between her and I, though like I said, none of that is her fault. If she reads this, I hope she realizes that she's still in my thoughts and very important to me, despite the distance between us.

So, skip the winter, t'was a boring time for the post part. I just remember spending long, cold nights with my Game Boy SP in front of our new TV watching football, filling the void with nothing to do. Motley Crue released new music and began a tour, after becoming a full-fledged fan the last summer, it was quite a treat. I picked up their greatest hits set (Red, White, and Crue) on February 5, 2005 (I still had the receipt, shockingly enough) and would often listen to it while doing homework or watching Arena Football on Saturday afternoons quietly in my room. Those two discs HAVE to be burned out by now, hah. An occasional school event here and there, generally a basketball game with some friends. Not a bad time at all.

Spring was a fucking blast, 'nuff said. I reunited (briefly) with a friend of mine, someone I considered a tremendous friend back in 2nd grade, and her name is Kate. I remember spending hours on end on the phone with her just catching up, whilst playing "ESPN MLB 2K5" on my XBOX. Things with her and I started really well, then we just kinda stopped talking around June (though we picked back up in January 2008, and haven't stopped talking since, very happy about that). In other news, my Cubs showed promise, the Bulls were a genuinely good basketball team for a change and made the playoffs, the NCAA Tournament was a blast because of the Illini making it to the Championship (and getting a cheap loss to those UNC bastards).

Later in the Spring, around May before summer break, was an outstanding time. I held a legitimate relationship with just about anyone you can think of, and even some then-eighth graders moving on to high school. For the first time in awhile, I really felt genuine respect, a feeling that hasn't faded since. It was just nice to be able to have those kinds of relationships with people. We had to do research papers, which I remember writing often while listening to Van Halen's "OU812" album with King of the Hill or Simpsons on the TV. Still the best paper I ever wrote, because the situation was just flawless. I went to see U2 and Sammy Hagar within three days of each other that month, towards the end they had the school olympics thing (which was awesome the first year around, but became really tired by my eighth grade year), and grad dance. Sad to see all those eighth graders leave the school, which is funny because I only associate myself with one these days, and we don't even talk, she's just in my English class this year. Funny how that works, eh?

The summer essentially began the weekend before school finished. I took a trip out to Dale's, first time since New Years and only second time since I'd moved since we did that. He had something going on my first day there, so I spent some time with old St. Dans friends I hadn't seen in a year. That was the perfect start to my summer, so incredible to see all those people again after such a long time (still is, actually). After the grad dance and the end of the year celebrations and such, Steph Lillis invited me to her grad party, which I remember for some strange reason as being a very good day. That following weekend, I went to the Cubs / Red Sox game at Wrigley on June 10, which we graciously won 14-6. I went to St. Dennis' carnival and hung out with Jessy Morgan most of the time the following day which was also a ton of fun. I also developed relationships with two going-on 7th graders (now sophomores) who have left a huge impact on my life, Jenny Jackinoski and Auston Wheets (sp? sorry bro :D), which ended up being a massive highlight to my summer.

Of course, all good things come to an end. This was around the time my grandfather was hospitalized and became very ill, eventually leading to his death. That's the one experience that changed my life forever, and things haven't been the same since. But it's safe to say before that, was easily one of the happiest times of my entire life, hands down, and I have a ton of people to thank for that. Those are the same people who made life easy on me following that tragic June 22 afternoon. The majority of which I still talk to today (Darren, Nicco), some of which I wish remained a part of my life (Leianne, Berta). The last thing I did that summer before spending it in isolation following grandad's passing was Canal Days, which was really fun since I spent most of my time with people who I wouldn't see again until August.

Oh, how things have changed, eh? I still can't believe that was three years ago, unbelievable. A LOT has happened since 7th grade, but it was the silver lining between two massively bad events to occur in my life, a silver lining that lasted a good ten months and I'm damn proud of it. I'm sure half of those people won't read this, but to the ones who left their impact: Thanks. You guys still mean a lot to me and my growth as a human being and I couldn't appreciate it more, and thanks to you all, you made my first year a VERY good one.

This was longer than expected. Well, that's about it, then!

-Zach