1987 to 1989

First, consider here how skipping grades is starting to affect me - 1987 to 1989, i was 9-11. I was in 5th through 7th grade. yeah, i started 7th grade at a 7th-12th grade school of over 3000 kids when i was 11. This will affect me later. moving on..

In 1987-88, i was in 5th grade and i was pretty much loving life. I was an excellent student, loved my friends, probably started hating my sister a little, haha. i became BFFs with Lori, who would remain my best friend for years to come. i started noticing boys, but they were still pretty gross at this point. i kept playing the violin and enjoyed it and i was still doing gymnastics at Capital. I didn't like training during thunderstorms (I was scared witless of them for years, i love them now), because our gym was in a huge warehouse and man did that sound echo. you try flipping on a 4 inch beam when a thunder crack hits. But overall, yes, still good.

1988-89, 6th grade. Things started getting a little weird. I met Michelle, who would be my best friend well into my 20s. Our pre-teen selves (and Lori, we were a trouble making threesome, haha) had our first drinks - a very poorly executed orange juice and so co (ugh), which we discarded instead for a sam adams, split three ways, taking shots. We also played a LOT of Mario Bros 3. A LOT. School was good, but i the girls were getting cliquey. For the first time in my life I was concerned about wearing the right thing and looking the right way. Guess jeans and hairspray had a lot to do with it at this point. One of the "cool kids" gave me the nickname K-Mart..which I seriously didn't figure out to be an insult until much later. Yeah, my mom bought my clothes at k-mart (actually, it was BRADLEES, thank you very much)..but until this point in my life, it didn't matter AT all. I'm sure this happens everywhere, but i think its ferocity may be specific to well-to-do areas like Fairfax County. I don't know, you tell me.

In 1989, I started 7th grade..I was very proud of my first day of school outfit (good lord, it was bad). I actually got a pair of guess jeans, from the guess outlet store at Potomac Mills (begged, begged, and begged for these. if i only knew in 15 years i would not really blink at spending three times as much, at least, on jeans. my parents were smarter than me, still are). I had a..gulp...perm. I had some seriously kickin buck teeth goin on. I had an athelete's build, a gymnast's posture, and a baby face. oh and yeah, i totally got boobs before all my friends. i was naive. Man, i WAS SO SCREWED.