FREE WRITING
JESSIE BURCHETTE
VERNON 1ST PERIOD
These past couple months have been...crazy to say the least. Trips back and forth to the hospital, pageant practices, catching up with schoolwork, etc.
This trip to the hospital has caused A LOT of trouble. By the time track tryouts came, I was in the hospital and ineligible to participate-which broke my heart. But I'm so glad I don't have to play dodgeball in gym either because of my doctor excuse :). I have another month before I have to start gym again and by the time I do we start practicing for the mile test and I'm so, so, so excited! The biggest downside to this is the makeup work...it stinks. I'm so far behind I don't even know where to begin. Everyone else in the classes are so far ahead of me and I feel like I'm not doing any of it right but I'm doing my best. I was even at the point where I considered switching to regular 8th grade classes because I felt like I wasn't living up to the school's and my parent's expectations like I should have. It's probably a bad excuse but I only had 7th grade experiences last year and within a year I was pushed into 9th grade classes so it has been a gigantic leap for me. My dad probably wouldn't be much encouragement except threats to do better but my mom is the one who stayed by my side to make sure I finished, even if I didn't understand a single word. Lately, I've turned to poetry to let out my frustrations in a healthy way. When I started writing, my mom pointed out that I was just like my great-grandmother who is a published author. My Life in Poems by May Scott Davis is where my inspiration comes from. She has written from topics about her move from Scotland-our home country-to America and then about her daughter who is my Aunt Jessie. My mom also says I tend to wear my heart on my sleeve so I'm starting to think that writing is definitely going to help with my confusion, exhaustion, and frustration.
Pageant practices and shopping definitely haven't helped with any of this at all...I can't count how many times my mom and I have had to run to the mall to make a last minute exchange because someone disapproved of an outfit I was going to wear in the pageant. Not to mention the practices, at the latest, ran for about 5 hours so I hardly had any time for homework or sleep. Despite this, Sandra and Meredith have there for me the whole way and I greatly appreciate their support. At the night of the pageant, I was a ball of energy but by the time of the crowning I deflated like a balloon...All that money we spent, all the countless hours we spent shopping went to waste because I walked away with nothing but a broken heart. Meredith won Miss 8th Grade and Sandra won 2nd runner-up and I couldn't be happier for them but anyone else would wish it could be them too. God, how I wanted to win that so bad because I had competed for two years but haven't won the 8th grade title. The first year I walked away as 1st runner up and the second I was 2nd runner up. I had tried for three years and spent tons of money and hours working at the pageant and I walk away with nothing: no trophy, no pride, no crown...just embarrassment.
These past few months have definitely been really hard. I just can't wait for spring break and summer to come so I can relax and start a new beginning in high school...