Neev - Week 14: Elementary school
I believe elementary school is the most definitive symbol of our childhood memories. Elementary school symbolizes the idea of the "good ol' days" and the lack of responsibility and stress that came along with that time. Opening up my elementary school yearbooks or uncovering the old class pictures always takes me straight back to those memories.
From my kindergarten year: I remember my move from Colorado to the Bay Area, and the first few friends I made in my kindergarten year, I am still close friends with today. I was cubby #6.
From my first grade year: I remember most of the people in Ms. Silva's class very clearly. Out of the 28 people in my class, I am still good friends with seven of them. I was cubby #22.
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| A stereotypical picture of an elementary classroom. |
From my third-grade year: I remember how scared I was of that useless GATE test. I also remember skipping over a month of school because of my incredible trip to Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands
From my fourth-grade year: I remember having some of the most fun ever this year. Both my classmates and my teachers were incredibly fun and approachable. I remember my friends and I developing a knock-off card game that took over the campus for a few months. I still go and meet my fourth-grade teachers on AHS minimum days.
From my fifth-grade year: I remember my friends and I slowly dabbling into young-adulthood, and the laughs and squirms we shared over our first health-ed classes. I remember the discussions of crushes and rumors about the class. I remember the weekly kickball games our teacher organized in which I was always the star because of my soccer experience. I remember that extremely fun friend group.
From my sixth-grade year: I remember those 5 incredible days of science camp, playing, learning, and adventuring. I remember the large Mesopotamia project we did. I remember the notification that school would be off for exactly 2 weeks. I remember that being extended to the rest of the year. I remember those 3 months of online school, with almost no regulations, waking up late, and playing video games with friends. I remember the fear COVID instilled within us; it was very interesting.
Neev, I love the descriptive imagery of your elementary school years in your post. Reading your post brings back fond memories of the joys of childhood, and makes me want to return to the days of “kickball games” when the only homework we had was coloring sheets and 1-page worksheets.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I can’t quite understand your purpose in writing this post—it comes across as a list of memories, with no deeper insight or argument. Based on your opening paragraph, it seems as if you want to portray the carefree nature of your childhood. If that is the case, it would be nice to reiterate this point in a closing paragraph.
You can also better portray the stress-free nature of your childhood by comparing and contrasting it to your life today. By doing this, you can emphasize how this carefree nature is exclusive to childhood—which would strengthen the nostalgic feeling in your post.
Thanks for making me relive my old childhood as well! I had many similar experiences in my childhood, and reading your post brought back fond memories.
Hey Neev! Reading your blog this week made me want to write a detailed recap of every single one of my elementary school years. Elementary school was the time of my life…especially 6th grade. Being in sixth grade meant that all of us were just the “it” people at school, at least in my opinion. With science camp and “graduation” and being the oldest, during a time when school was not as stressful as it is now, sixth grade was just perfect. What’s funny is that I remember taking my studies in sixth grade extremely seriously. Late nights finishing art projects, math tests, algebra packets…but it wasn’t just school. Life happens and you find yourself worrying about your family, your future, your self-worth, all at such a young age. I think the elementary school memories are reminders that the pressure increases as we grow older. I believe that the most important thing to do is to learn to appreciate the beautiful memories through it all because we are going to look back at these moments one day and wonder why the heck we were stressing out so much in the first place. I hope it just keeps getting better. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Neev, I really enjoyed reading your specific descriptions of elementary school memories, it really brought me a wave of nostalgia. The carefree nature of elementary school is definitely something I miss and you capture that really well with the memories you describe, especially as you can see the transition into slowly steppinginto the real world with those fifth and sixth grade years. Fourth grade was also my most memorable year of elementary! I'm not sure why but it was definitely the year where I had the most fun and it's nice to hear that you still visit your fourth grade teachers even after all these years. Having more responsibilities now really makes you miss the days when our biggest worries were GATE tests. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHey Neev! Your blog really brought me back to my childhood days. I know we went to the same elementary school and I think it’s great that you still visit your teachers many years later. It’s so cool that you were able to skip a month of school to visit such amazing destinations, which also happen to be on my bucket list of countries to travel to. Back in fourth grade, I was also playing card games with my friends and in fifth grade, we all slowly began to change. I also still remember that science camp trip we all took, which was extremely fun but also a new experience because it was my first time camping with friends. I loved the cabins we got to stay in and all the unique activities we did, but I also enjoyed meeting new people. It’s interesting that our elementary school experiences were pretty similar in ways, and that makes me wonder if current elementary kids will live the same.
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