The Best or Worst Years?

Alright, yesterday I was just being ornery and selfish and I was just in a bad mood. Sorry. I think what triggered it was I was talking to my mom and she mentioned to me that these years would be or are the best years of my life. What, really? I hope not. I hope that there are better years in my future. I think these have been my most challenging. But that is probably for a variety of reason's, not just related to being a mom.

So, that got me thinking, what has been the best time of my life, so far?

I have to say, that for me it was Jr. High. What's funny is, today my friend Bridget wrote a blog post about how much she hated Jr. High (Middle School) I guess that I just had a totally different experience than she did. So I'm going to write about how much I loved it and you can see that every mirror really does have two faces.

I loved Jr. High. For me, it spanned from 7-9th grade. I went from being pigeonholed as awkward and weird in my elementary school to a new school with lots and lots of new kids who I had never met, and didn't have any preconceived notions of who I was. I found that fresh start so liberating. And also, the "popular" girls who had been mean to me in elementary school, were suddenly the new little 7th graders just like me. I feel like it put us all on an equal playing field. Another great thing that happened to me was I ran into two girls on the first day of seventh grade whom I had met and become fast friends with two years earlier at a summer camp. So I had instant best friends and a group to hang around with. Something I had never had in elementary.

Throughout those years I had the time of my life. I just had so much fun being silly and crazy and although I probably should have been worried about what people thought of me, I just wasn't. I'm sure I made a fool of myself all the time, but if I did, I didn't know or I really didn't care. I had great friends and found even more as the years passed by. These friendships were deeper and closer then I have ever had before or since. Ninth great was especially awesome. I had my first boyfriend, first kiss, first dance:

-that I actually got to dance with they boy I had a crush on.

My dad wasn't around, my mom was busy with a new husband, and my sisters were busy doing their own high school thing, so I basically just did want I wanted when I wanted. My friends and I used to have sleepovers all the time and sneak out in the night to go toilet papering, or meet boys, or just walk around and do nothing. At school lunch I got to eat french fries and pizza or salad bar everyday if I wanted. I could buy candy and chips in the vending machine whenever I wanted to. Can you tell I liked junk food?. I got to take classes in the things I was interested in.

I got to do my favorite thing in the world and be on the dance team.

My friends and I would walk to the gas station on Tuesday's after school and just hang out there for hours.

We would get dropped off at the mall or the movies. It didn't matter what we were doing it was just fun being us.

I went on a cruise with my mom and sisters

I played in the band and learned the flute and the clarinet

I sang in the choir

I rolled around in the mud just for fun

I wore funny glasses and learned how to snowboard

I hiked Mt. Timpanogos and thought it was a good idea to pull up my shirt because it was just so hot.

Went to girls camp

Took lots of fun "posing" pictures and wore JNCO jeans because they were sooo cool.

We got to go to Lagoon with the 9th grade

Now, I'm not saying that it was all awesome all the time. There were braces:
and girls who were hurtful, a broken heart, drama with my family, and most of my friends had their own drama at home too-that's probably why we were all so close to each other. But on the most part, I just had a great time.

Now, please don't think that I'm one of those people who is always looking back and talking about the good old days, or wishing to re-live them. I know that there are wonderful times ahead and I look forward this wonderful time. I'm just saying that if I had to take all the phases of my life and rate them from best to worst so far, I think Jr. High would be at the top.