childhood memories

It was my first year of school, and the school yard was my world; it was the most amazing thing going for me. Making a good impression, being cool and having lots of friends was the most important thing for the kids of Gordon Greenwood elementary. I went to a school like most elementary schools, the older or stronger kids were praised while the younger smaller kids were picked on. The cool kids had the newest clothes, the coolest show and tell, and the best hang out place. Kids defined their self worth on having control over the monkey bars, or finally being able to eat lunch in the "cool" spot that they could have waited what seemed like years to sit at. The school consisted of a hierarchy of kids, each kid belonged to a group, each kid had a place, a label, a position. Some kids ranked higher and some lower, that’s just how it went. It was so definite, and so defined yet unspoken and automatic. Kids just new their place, and that was that. Kids knowing their rank would segregate to their area of the school yard. the cool kids, knowing they had the ultimate power of intimidation, took full advantage of such position and would roam where the pleased, often kicking small children of the playground, most kids saw them coming and left; they new their place. I was a small boyish-girl with short brown hair and chicken legs. I loved to get dirty and have fun. I had a wild imagination, and was always in my own world. Most of my friends were boys; the girls like to stay on the pavement playing hopscotch or inside making up name for stuffed toys. I didn’t really fit in with them. Sometimes I thought it would be nice to be one of then with there frilly dresses and blonde hair. It was my first year and I felt out of place and awkward. I loved to run on the field and have mud fights or play detective with my friends, which was fun but, but still I didn’t feel like I fit in. I couldn’t try to fit in by being a girly girl with long blond hair. I couldn’t tie my shoes, read books or skip so I defiantly didn’t fit in with the girl with all the talent. I couldn’t run as fast as the boys and I wasn’t very good at four square. This bothered me; I didn’t like the feeling of not being accepted by all my pears. I didn’t want to end up like the unaccepted kids, the ones who followed the duty teacher around the school yard as she monitored the students; they did this for protection and were often made fun of. I didn’t want to end up like that, this was my first year and I needed to make a good impression. One day I saw an opportunity that could change all that. I thought to myself I should do something big, something really big, something no one had done before, I should cross the gate. Now this gate wasn’t just any gate, it was the door out of our wondrous elementary school grounds, to a world unknown. The school was a big brick building with green walls and pillar that looked like giant pencils. Behind the school was a playground and behind the playground there were swings. Behind that was a field, at the end of that field there was the gate, the gate separating us from the mysterious unknown. It was completely out of bonds and totally forbidden! If I were to cross over, I would be a hero to all the kids of our fair school and a legend to elementary school kids to come. Some kids would say that the reason teachers didn’t want us in the forest is because they were hiding something, something big, maybe candy or treasure. What ever it was, it was mystery to all of us. Behind the gate was a dark ravine covered with a thick green forest and something was in there. After I had enough courage stored up inside me, I spread the word that I was going to do it, yes me, little insignificant me, was going to cross the gate in to the new world. A few kids followed me out there in disbelief but I was going to prove them wrong. As I walked across the field, I saw the gate and dark forest, I guarded. Was I really going to do it? I thought back to the day when Mrs. Madison come to our class just a few weeks ago and said we were to never under any circumstances go out of bounds. I started to get nervous and butterflies fluttered inside me. It seemed to take forever to get there. I was in kindergarten and wasn’t even supposed to be in the back field anyway, and especially not out of bounds. I came up to the gate, it was large and cruel looking with it twisted wire bars. I put my small hands up against the wire, it was cold and wet, I looked behind me and saw Tracy pulling the field duty teacher by the hand. Tracy was a very noisy child who always tattled on kids who were doing something bad. I turned to look at the gate and quickly thought in a panic, “the teacher is coming closer!” with one sudden burst of courage, I pushed the gate open and ran as fast as I could on the muddy path down the ravine and into the forest.

After that I went to the principals office of course. sometimes i would be walking down the halls and hear "That's the girl that crossed the gate."