Revised Essay

“Hey Karly, how was your day,” she asked with a smile.

“Usual,” I responded.

“That’s good. Karly! What did I tell you? After you’re finished eating, put your plate in the dishwasher.”

“Sorry, here I got it.”

Scooting my chair out from under the table breaks the silence. I skip to the dishwasher. Thunk! My butterfly mask I made in 6th grade had fallen off the corkboard. “Man this thing is old,” I mumbled to myself.

                 My mind traveled back into 6th grade. It was art class, and it was one of the final weeks of making the masks. I had just finished painting the base of the mask. The aroma of the paint base filled my nostrils with a chemical smell. I try to ignore it, and ask my art teacher where the paint is. She points me to the direction of the blue metal drawers. I open the 3rd one. Many different colors were organized so neatly it was hard to choose. I picked the colors that I thought would be good for a somewhat realistic butterfly. Walking back to the table, glancing over at other’s people’s work, I was hoping mine would turn out well. I began painting the wings of the mask gold. I turned off everything else around me, and time flew by. Looking across the room and seeing that everyone was packing up, I put my butterfly on the drying rack. Finally, I was done.

                 “Come on Karly, let’s go do the laundry.” Mom’s voice brought me back to kitchen, out of my flashback. I placed the mask back on the corkboard, and went to help.

            Over the years at Greenwoods, I had an amazing, unique experience. Throughout all my classes, all the hikes, up until my graduation, it will be in my mind for many years to come.

My favorite classes varied throughout the years, but it was never math! Science classes were the most interesting. Throughout the years, we went on many hikes on the trails and explored wildlife. We were able to interact with what we were learning, which gave us a different opportunity then most kids. Our usual walks through the leafy pathways, up and down hills, trees above shading us, carrying our clipboards, seeing deer trotting through the woods, dodging all the trees, having annual tick checks, and carrying clipboards, which was annoying then, but now I always think how lucky I was to be able to do those kinds of activities.

Most of my other favorite memories took place during art class. When you walk into the grand room, you see the tall bookshelves taking over the right walls. Above them were famous drawings by various artists. I smelled clay, glue and paint all mixed together. When you sit down in the tiny paint stained tables, our teacher Ms. Mail would begin teaching different techniques and or skills. Her gold leaf earrings would dangle from her ears as she walked around the classroom helping us get inspired. Sometimes the projects were related to some of our classes, and others were about us.

One of my favorite projects was making animal masks. Each of us had to think of an animal that we would want to create. We all had to choose an animal to create, and from there on, it took several weeks to make it all happen.

Art class always inspired me throughout the years, and I still have most of the artwork I made hanging around the house. Throughout all the years at Green Woods, eighth grade was the one that was most special to me. Towards the beginning of the year, we were all just excited to be heading off to high school in a few months. We all thought it was nice to be the oldest in the school. It was all fun and games until the high school preparation came along. Weeks went by, sitting in our homeroom looking at all sorts of high schools. Our counselor took us through the long process. Waiting patiently for our acceptance letters, months went by, and most of us were still gnawing on our nails waiting patiently for the replies. Science Leadership was my first choice. This past year they had their first graduating class, so there was over a thousand applications. It seemed as though I was the only one without a letter. The day finally came.

It was last after lunch; we were in science class taking notes. The classroom was pretty quiet, except for a few coughs here and there. Then, the front door broke the silence. It was one of the teachers from the front desk with an envelope in her hand. She said the letter was for me, so I hopped out of my chair and darted over. Ms. Geist told me I couldn’t open it until class was over. My eyes were glued to the letter the rest of the class.

“Class is over,” Ms. Geist shouted, “See you t33omorrow!”

Struggling to pack up my books, I tried to hurry out of there to open the letter. Tearing it open, not caring about a thing, I saw the 2 words that made my heart stop. Waiting list. I wasn’t sure what to do with myself. Two of my other friends got accepted right away. What did I do wrong? I thought to myself. Was I too nervous at the interview? I created a whole new project about my pet! At that point, I had no confidence in myself and I starting to feel down. This was the only school I had really wanted to go to. After a few hours, I decided to let go of it, and relax.

Months went by. It was now April and all the middle school students were boarding the huge yellow buses to go to our Earth Day field trip at Temple. I just walked on the bus and sat down. As I was pulling out my music, Ms. Wallace, the principal stepped on and told me to step off. Hoping I wasn’t in trouble, I got up and followed her out to the blacktop.

“Someone’s on the phone for you.” She said with a smile.

Looking confused, I picked it up. It was Mr. Lehman from Science Leadership Academy. He said he wanted me to attend SLA in the fall. At that moment I felt more special then anyone else. I was more then excited to get accepted into that school.

Next thing I know, it’s already graduation day. It was extra fun because we didn’t go to school. I had got my dress on sale for twenty dollars at JCPenney. It was a silver halter dress with a diamond as the belt. I was excited, but more nervous to be the first one to walk out the door.

The doors opened. There I was, standing in front of all my family members, minutes away from graduating middle school. Holding the bright red rose tightly in my clammy hands, I take my first step down the deep red carpet. The music makes the moment even harder to take in. My eyes met my Mom’s. I hand her the rose and hug her tight. “Thank you,” She mumbled softly into my ear. My eyes started to water, but I managed to hold it in until I got to my assigned seat. One by one, each of my former classmates made their way down the aisle. I try my best to hold back my emotions I didn’t expect. Being first for everything, it was time for my diploma. Tripping towards my teachers in my new heels, I hugged my vice principal first, then got the diploma from my principal. The black frame with fancy writing and our class picture inside made me feel like a made a huge accomplishment. I held it up in the air smiling. Flashes went off, all I could hear is clapping. I was ecstatic. Middle school is finally over with.