Love, 8th Grade Style

As much as I adore making fun of myself for writing absolutely inane things in junior high, there were some entries in my 8th grade journal that weren't that weren't too terribly far off the mark. I'm not feeling particularly funny or quick or witty today, so I'm taking a break from the usual heavily mocking entry style and am instead giving you my young view on love & boys. You can see my mildly mocking comments interspersed.



January 24, 1996 Boy-Girl Relationships

I think that the boy-girl relationships in our school are being overblown by some people. [If I recall correctly, there was some big hoopla in school at that time about how awful the guys were being. We might have even had class meetings about it or a chapel announcement or something along those lines. It was a big deal at the time.] I am quite satisfied at how I am being treated. Some girls may not feel the same way as I do, but I think that most do. I know plenty of guys who are nice. I have to admit, there is some exceptions. The popular group of guys are the ones who are being mean and degrating. I think that the "in" guys are nicer to the unpopular girls [I fell into the this crowd, although by no means did I really care because my friends were awesome! Shout out to Jules & Ems!] more than the popular girls because they have a respect for us that I don't see going towards the "in" girls. [Looking back on it, I would say that they just didn't care about us. Definitely don't think there was more respect going on.] I have no idea why this is, but I do know that all some girls want is respect. I know I don't talk to the (as some people call the popular guys) "herd" much, but when I do, they don't act mean and selfish like w/ the popular girls. [That actually was true. When I did get the courage to talk to the "herd", they weren't all that bad to me. A little full of themselves, but not unkind.]


May 1, 1996 Love

Some people say that there is love at first sight, but I don't believe so. Love is a gradual process that takes time. To have a good relationship with someone of the opposite sex, you have to be good friends first. If you jump headlong into dating or marriage, you won't know that person or their morals well. I also believe that you need to have your parents' permission before you date or marry a person [maybe back in 8th grade this was true]. If your parents don't approve of the guy, he's probably not the one for you [still true today]. Your parents need to be an active part in your relationships [um, no thanks]. For people who think that love at first sight happens, it is more like like at first sight. True love is not based on looks or brains. True love consists of knowing how they will react before they do. The heart and soul make up true love. [I can tell you with utter conviction that when I was writing those last two sentences, I wasn't paying attention to what I was writing. That style of sentence is highly indicative of me writing without thinking. I've been known to type entire papers in college like that... however, my quality of thoughtless writing had vastly improved by then.]