My First Grade: Why I Take Naps At School

1st Grade It was my first full year at West Jones Elementary. I was not particularly fond of the idea of taking naps at school. I saw naps as a thing of the past now that I was a big first grader instead of a wimpy kindergartener. When we started the class, my teachers Mrs. Manley and her assistant teacher told us all about the work schedule, recess, lunch and the worst thing in the history of man or at least to a first grader it was...naps. We did not have to physically lay down, but every day after lunch we would get back in the room and lay down our heads. They would turn out the lights and tell everyone to stay quiet. I got in trouble numerous amounts of times because I did not want to do that. My favorite thing to do was socialize and that is all I wanted to do. So I would "lay down my head" just like Jacob laying down his head on a rock in
Genesis (allusion and simile) and instead of going to sleep I would secretly talk to the person on my left or right side. Naps are for the tired, but happiness never sleeps.

2nd Grade It was April 24, 2008, and my little brother was expected to be born that day. I was so excited, yet my parents still made me go to school. I was in Mrs. Jordan's safari themed class. It was my favorite class even though I had gotten in trouble multiple times. My grandparents dropped me off that morning where I could wait for the bell to ring to send us to class. That morning our teachers told us they had a special surprise for us which in this case was "chocolate covered ants." The class did not believe them, so we all chowed down on our delicious candy. As we were heading for a bathroom break, I heard my stomach speak to me and the pain was like needles poking my stomach. I told my teacher that the ants we ate earlier were not dead because they were eating my stomach. My teacher knew it was just nerves, so I sat by her for the rest of the day. Ants covered in chocolate cannot hurt you, but nerves sure can.

3rd Grade I was in Mrs. Donald's 3rd-grade class. It was most definitely my least favorite class because my teacher liked to be mean, to boss us around, and to provide us with a lot of work. Mrs. Donald was a relative of a lady that went to our church, but I liked the lady from church a lot better than my teacher. Because the class was so boring, I really enjoyed Star Reach. It was the gifted program that our school offered along with other schools. Every Tuesday, they would load all the gifted kids on a bus and drive them to an old school that was no longer running. The first day of Star Reach, kids were excited all over the place, including me. I remember getting on the bus and sitting in the middle by my friend Matt Waldrup. The bus ride seemed to take forever. When we got there, we were all herded into an auditorium like a bunch of cattle. They gave us all a schedule which had multiple classes. It was the only time I actually had a changing class schedule and I liked it a lot. Independence felt a lot better than walking in a line everywhere.

4th Grade Fourth grade was my final year at West Jones Elementary, but I did not find that out until later that year. I remember the day when my dad told me we would be moving. My dad and I used to go running on weekends. It was kind of like our bonding time, in the midst of heavy breathing. We would talk on and on while we ran. This particular morning it was kind of cold. My dad started asking me questions that hinted towards the move. He started off asking me how I liked living in Laurel, Mississippi and then moved towards asking me how sad I would be if I had to make new friends. I told him that I would miss my friends, but that meeting new people was fun. I was not getting his hints in the way he wanted, so out of frustration, I asked him why he was asking me all of this. He told me that he was looking for a new job as a minister. My heart felt like crying yet it felt like a party. I loved the thought of meeting new people. It was a cold, crazy confusing day for me. The thought of meeting new people was excited yet you never know what will happen.

5th Grade I started the day off at North Forrest Elementary.
I had five classes: Ms. Tynes-Math, Mrs. Shows- Science, Mrs. Graham- Social Studies, Mrs. Seal- Reading, and Mrs. Allen-Writing. The problem with my new school was that I had heard so many bad things about it. People told my parents that I should not go there. I had no problem with going there. It was a predominantly African-American school. A week before I was meant to start, there was a mishap while my dad was trying to trim my hair causing him to have to shave my head. The opening day of school, I started off with very short hair and I was the new white kid at the school. I thought it was gonna be super hard to make new friends. I was honestly super scared to try to make friends. I found out very quickly that it was not as hard as it seemed. All I had to do was make a concerted effort. I stayed with those people all day, and quickly became friends with everyone I came in contact with. It helped shape the social aspect that I have today in the fact that I can talk to anyone. Meeting different people can help build character just like how bricks help build a
house.