Narrative

Shianta Moore
Dr. Roye
English Comp 101-IE
2/3/13
It is Okay Not to Fit In
Sometimes being different is not a bad thing. From a very young age I was labeled “different” I started reading before the start of kindergarten, I would rather read then play outside and I actually liked homework. I did not mind being “different”. I never thought being smart would be such a bad thing. In school I always tested high I was above average they said, so in fifth grade they placed me in T.A.G., the Talented and Gifted program. What should have been such a great thing in my life turned out to be a bad experience, just because I did not want to be different for the first time in my life.
When the school gave me a letter to bring home I was terrified I just knew I was in trouble. My mother picked me up at school that day and as we drove home all I could think about was the letter in my book bag. I knew I had to give it to her sometime today, so right there in the backseat I came up with my plan. The plan was to go home do all my chores, help her with dinner, help clean up, and then give her the letter. The time had come dinner was over I had helped cleaned up now my whole family was watching TV together. I went to my room and grabbed the letter and slowly walked to the living room to hand it to my mother. As soon as she seen the letter her face changed, but as she read it she began to smile. The letter read “ Dear Ms. Carter, congratulations based on her test scores and academic achievements your child has been selected to participated in T.A.G. our talented and gifted program “! She showed my dad the letter and they were both so excited I did not know what T.A.G. was, but I knew it had to be good.
The very first day of T.A.G. I could not wait for eleven o’clock to come. When the bell rang I shot over to the class where it was being held. I was the first one there just waiting for what was to come. After a few minutes the other students began to file in, some of them my friends and then finally our teacher. Mr. Barnes explained to us what T.A.G was and how we would be doing things like learning chess, playing educational games on the computer, and other fun ways to learn. As T.A.G progressed I loved it. I did not mind that it was during recess or that I had extra homework. I was excited and honored to be a part of something so interesting and new, but everyone was not as excited for me.
While I thought T.A.G was amazing my friends did not. The other kids, some who I thought were my friends began to tease me and call me names like nerd, dork, and loser. I could not figure out why this was going on, I thought T.A.G. was a good thing. I became an outsider quickly nobody wanted to play with me anymore, the only friends I had were the other people in T.A.G. I got tired of being the butt of everyone’s joke, so I started slacking off and eventually stopped doing my work in T.A.G. I thought this would help me in the end, but it did not in the slightest bit. One day I got another letter from the school this time I could not wait to show it to my mom. Only this time it was not good I had been kicked out of talented and gifted program. My mother was furious and sad all in one she immediately scheduled a parent teacher conference with Mr. Barnes. In that meeting, he explained how I had stopped doing my work and stopped coming to class and that was why I had to be removed. So my plan worked I gained my so called friends back, but I hurt my mother in the worst way.
I learned a very important lesson that year about what actually matters in life. Looking back I wish I would have never let people get to me so deeply. I gave up something I loved, something that not only brought me joy, but also my parents. I was so caught up in what other thought of me instead of what I actually wanted to do. Never again will I let someone steal my joy from me, just to fit in.