School Daze: Grade Seven

Day 290

This had to be the worst school year I had while growing up. I was spoiled when I attended Sifton Elementary school. I had great friends and great teachers which was missing for the most part when I went to Junior High.

During the sixth grade we were visited by the three main Junior High schools recruiting sixth graders to attend there respective schools. I had a choice between Killarney, Balwin and Steele Heights. And I made the unfortunate decision to attend Killarney. This has to go down as one of the worst decisions I have ever made in life. I honestly don't know why I chose Killarney. None of my friends decided to go there and my sister went there and hated it. So I have no clue why I decided to go there.

Their mascot was a Leprechaun. It really should have been Lucifer.

Killarney was not fun at all. While there were a few bright spots, they were rare and didn't last very long. I have already blogged about some of the experiences I had.

I didn't know anyone in my class except for this girl that was in my class the year before and we were not friends. I hate to say this now that I am older but we didn't like her because she smelled and dressed in rags. I should have been nicer to her but honestly it was a relief when she was picked on since they were picking on her and not me. I didn't make any fast friends but I was fortunate to help this new guy with his homework. Rob turned into one of the cool guys and because I helped him with his homework I was not picked on as much.

There was Shelley. She was friends with some of the cool people (Rob's girlfriend) that ran our school and she liked me. I didn't really like her in return but I did like the meager protection my relationship with her offered. It protected me from quite a few altercations.

There was also the time when I was framed and almost killed for trying to be accepted. Most of the days I spent at Killarney I was in fear. Waiting for something bad to happen and typically something would. I was bullied most of the times and I didn't get along with many of my teachers. My grades suffered big time and I was failing most of my subjects. I just was not happy.

I did have a few good teachers, Miss Spicer and Mrs. Evans were always there to lend a hand and smile at me. If it wasn't for those teachers I would have probably died. But at least I wouldn't fear hell since I was already attending Killarney.

That is me on the left in my favorite Van Halen jersey. That was my only picture in the yearbook. I missed school pictures that year.

One of the few bright spots at Killarney was riding the bus to school. I would catch the bus and I would sit by this girl named Debbie. She was a couple of years older than I was but she remembered me from Sifton. So every time I would get on the bus she would move her school bag so I could sit down. If the bus was really crowded she would let me sit on her lap. Yeah, I took my small victories when I could!

My mom knew that I was not having a great time at Killarney. My mom worked at the Diet Center (which was across the street and down the block from my school) and I used to stop by every once in awhile to visit during my lunch hour. I remember fondly one day she told me not to go back to school. I didn't go back that afternoon and we went out and got lunch and mom took me to some comic book shops. Mom could always tell when I needed a break.

I even remember what comics I got when I went out with mom. This one was my favorite. It gave sneak peaks of upcoming titles.

Killarney had a Science Fair which I told my parents about the night before. We stood up way into the wee hours of the morning making a project. I chose the planet Mars and we made a very cool paper mache planet while my dad built a stand and poster boards. I got an A on the project. Good thing my family was there to help me.
I will say that Killareny was a place where I had some "firsts". Killarney is where I had my first major fist fight. It was at the Clairview Bus Station. This kid named Tyler was really picking on me and I had enough. I swung and punched him in the back of his head knocking him on his knees. He got up and quickly turned to me and went insane. He knocked me down and grabbed the back of my head and pounded it into the concrete multiple times. A couple of adults pulled him off of me and I caught the bus as normal. I was so full of adrenaline that I didn't notice the blood and cuts on my head. One kid saw that I was bleeding and asked what happened and I told him. This kid (who I didn't know) was friends with Rob and he gathered a few guys and they beat the crap out of Tyler. They really did a number on him. Looking back I feel bad that he really took a beating but that was life in the 7th grade. Better him than me, you do what you have to do to survive.

Killarney was also the first place where I was offered drugs. Across the street was a Mac's (like a 7-11 store) and we used to go over there during lunch. It was there I was offered hash. I politely said "no" and he asked if there was anything else I would like to try. I said "no" and moved on. Most of the kids in my class smoked and I tried my first cigarette. Funny thing about that is I didn't know you breathed in the smoke into your lungs. I did not inhale. I just drew the smoke into my mouth and blew it out.

Killarney was also the first time that I kissed a girl. It was on the last day of school and I kissed her on the cheek. Her name was Lori and she moved in halfway through the year. She was very cute and she made friends with cool kids and she liked me. So once again I got more protection but this time I had someone I liked on my arm. So at least my last month of the seventh grade was mostly peaceful. I pulled my grades up enough to pass the seventh grade.

But then I got some bittersweet news. The sweet news was that was my last year at Killarney. The bad news was that I was moving to another country!

List-Mania: Cool Teachers!

Day 174

So far most of my columns that I write about school have usually been about how I hated it or some of the funny things that happened or about how I didn't get along with authority figures. And so far my List-Mania columns have been devoted to more fun things that I enjoy in life but this time both columns (to be combined into one) will be much different. Looking back I have found teachers that I have had that had a positive impact on me and today, I am honoring them. They are not listed in any particular order.

Ms. Archer (Sifton Elementary School)

I was fortunate to have Ms. Archer for 2 years straight. I had her in Sifton for grades 5 and 6. Not only did I think she was an excellent teacher but I felt that she cared more for me than just making sure I got good grades. Towards the end of the 5th grade I began to hang out with this other kid in my class and he was not the nicest kid. He would threaten other kids and bully some of them and threaten beatings and I wanted to be like this kid. Ms. Archer noticed this too and saw that I was changing and not for the good. So she made the decision to move my desk away from him and back to some of my other friends. And she asked me to stay after school for a couple of minutes. She told me after school that I was not being true to myself and that I should stop trying to be like this kid. She then told me that I was not being nice and I would lose people's respect and friendship. At the time those words hurt since I liked Ms. Archer a lot but walking home and thinking about it, I knew she made sense. So I eventually stopped hanging around this kid and went back to my normal circle of friends. What she did had nothing to do with school work, nothing at all to do with my grades. But she cared enough about me to take the time to set me straight. Something I will never forget.

Mrs. Baugh/Letham (North Cache Middle School/Sky View High School)
After Killarney I moved to the United States and I had to start the 8th grade in a new school and a new country. I tried to fit in but unfortunately the U.S. also had its share of bullies. But this grade was much better than Killarney and I made some good friends but more importantly I had some good teachers. My favorite was Ms. Baugh, my English teacher. I had no problems in reading plays and characters in class which made me one of her favorites. But it was the writing assignments that I really liked and she knew I liked. One assignment that I had was to write about an invention. I thought about some sort of sorting vacuum cleaner and eventually the story morphed into something completely different. Something that I was really proud of. I handed it in and a few days later she wanted to speak to me privately. She handed me back my story and explained the assignment and I realized that I screwed up. My story was completely different from the assignment. I felt like such an idiot but she told me it was the best story she had read in years. Then she told me not to worry about the assignment, I wrote a story that I should be proud of and that she would reward me extra credit for going all out on a story. She asked if she could keep a copy of the story so she could read it to her 6th graders as an example of how to write creatively. I was honored. Later on I became her assistant my senior year and she still remembered my story and encouraged me to try to get it published. I still have that story and I have worked on it occasionally and I think it would make a great children's book. Ms. Baugh (later it became Mrs. Letham) really knew how to push me creatively and taught me to embrace it instead of shy away from it.

Mrs. Burningham (Sky View High School)
I had Mrs. Burningham for two classes my senior year in high school (it was her first year teaching at Sky View) and they were my favorite classes. I had her for Painting and also for AP Art and AP Art is where I learned the most. At this point I wanted to be a comic book artist and she really helped me understand that I need to know and learn all forms of art so I can be a complete comic book artist. But she really knew me as a person and understood when I was not feeling art. Every once in awhile I would just sit and talk quietly with my friends or do some reading and she never bugged me about getting my projects done. She knew it was more important to recharge batteries and she trusted me enough that I would get my stuff done.

Ms. Spicer (Killarney Junior High School)

I didn't have too many bright spots when I attended Killarney Junior High but she was one of them. She was a great teacher that tried her hardest to not only teach but also to help us form our own opinions. She appreciated what each student had to say and she went out of her way to make all of us comfortable so we would give our opinion. I was mostly a quiet student but in her class I felt like I could talk and add to the discussion. She cared about her students as well, I remember a couple of times where she could see that I was struggling and she would talk to me personally. There were many times that I was threatened to get beat up and she would always allow me to come to her class after school so I could escape. She made such an impression that she was a character in my first novel. She of course was a teacher that helped one of students choose a better life.


Mr. Churchill (Sky View High School)
I know a lot of people didn't like him but I really did. I had him for a variety of classes from Driver's Ed to Sociology to Weight Training. He demanded a lot from you in class and made sure you succeeded. I remember in Weight Training he gave me a goal of how much weight I could bench and he kept trying to add more weight and demand more from me. I eventually ended up going over my goal by 16 pounds because he kept driving me. What I respected about him the most was that he told it like it was. He himself was never disrespectful but when he was (or any of us) were disrespected he really would hit you over the head. One time in weight training some kid put in a tape (Guns and Roses Use Your Illusion II) for use to listen to when we were lifting. Now Mr. Churchill was not a fan of profanity and when a song came on that was loaded with it he stopped lifting and ran and got the tape and broke it in half and threw it outside. He did warn us in advance that he doesn't tolerate that sort of stuff. And he did exactly what he said he would do.

There were other teachers I had throughout my life that made an impact on me too but these teachers stood out the most. I appreciate that they took the time to be an example to me and taught me more than what was expected in the classroom.

School Daze: Dead Man Walking

Day 115

I was almost killed while attending Killarney Junior High school. I guess that wouldn't have been so bad. As far as I was concerned, I was already in hell.

But seriously, I thought I was dead man.


I hardly had any friends at Killarney and the few friends that I had were not the greatest either. I was lucky enough to help a kid in my grade with some work and he was one of the kewl kids and that offered some protection but I was still picked on. Every day was hell. I didn't know if I was one of the kewl kids and left alone or if I was to be subjected to harassment and brutality. And one day I got both.

The day started normal enough. I was teased but it was not too bad, in fact it was one of the good days. Towards the end of the school day I was invited to hang out with the kewl kids. So I thought my day was made. I was safe.

Then one of the other kewl kids named Bradley said he had something important for me. He said that one of the kewler kids named Mark needed to pass a note to his girlfriend Sylvia. Brad said he couldn't do it after school so he gave me the note and asked me to do it. And I happily (and stupidly) took the note wanting to prove that I can be counted on. After school I raced to the other side of the school and looked for Sylvia. I found her and handed her the note saying it was from Mark and I fled from the scene. And I was thrilled. This should now prove that I can be a kewl kid.

I never read the note and perhaps I should have. But the note apparently was not a nice one. Sylvia was horrified and told Mark. Mark was super angry and told everyone that he will kill the kid that gave her the note. Yup, that was me. I lived in fear for the next five days. And then we had an assembly and she came in with Mark. I thought this was it. I am a dead man.


She looked at me and I smiled nicely back at her. I am positive that she knew that it was me that gave her that note. But for some reason she never told Mark. I knew she didn't because Mark was a little psycho and no matter what she said he would have killed me. So Mark never found out and Brad's evil plan never came to fruition. But I was afraid for my life for the rest of the year until I met Lori. And suddenly I was safe again. At least for the time being.

School Daze: Sorry Shelley!

Day Ten

Writing about my dating experiences and courtship of Kristy reminded me of my love life (or lack thereof) prior to my wife. I didn't have many serious girlfriends aside from she-who-must-not-be-named whom I dated before Kristy. I had a small relationship with a girl right before my mission and I didn't have any girlfriends in high school. But my first official girlfriend came in seventh grade. Why do I call it official? Because she called me her boyfriend so I called her my girlfriend.

In seventh grade I attended what I called hell. Killarney Junior High School.



I am sure every time I write about ANY experience about Killarney I will say the exact same thing. It was hell. There are a few, very few bright spots about Killarney. The most obvious bright spot being that I only attended one year before I moved to Utah. Unfortunately the hell continued there.

But I was fortunate enough that I helped this new kid with his school work and he turned into the cool kid of the class. His name was Rob and I was happy to know him, this meager friendship protected me from some of the harsh realities of going to hell, I mean, Killarney.



His girlfriend Sandi had a friend named Shelley and she liked me. So I liked her in return. I didn't really like her, I liked the benefits that came with being her "boyfriend". My protection shield was raised even more. I remember one incident in particular. We were watching a play at a school assembly and some dork (must have been you Russell or James!) was sitting behind me kicking my chair. Rob told them to stop since I was sitting beside Shelley. "Don't bug them, they are in love." Yeah, I was in love, not with Shelley but with the protection I got from her!

Twenty years later and I still feel sorry for taking advantage of her. So I humbly and publicly apologize to Shelley for taking advantage of her feelings. I'm sorry Shelley.

Towards the end of the hideous school year, I became friends with a new girl in class named Lori. Luckily for me she liked me too and was friends with the "cool" people as well. Now Lori I liked. In fact, she was the first girl I kissed. On the cheek and on the last day of school.