Try to count all the first days you’ve ever had. I’m serious. Try. There’s the first day you came
into this world, the first day you ever spoke a legible word, the first day you walked by yourself, the first
day you met your best friend… Come to think of it, first days aren’t really idiosyncratic. Everyday,
something new happens. Everyday, a new “first” occurs. Up high on this long, long list of firsts is
probably one you’ve already thought of- first days of school. Now, I’ve had ten first days of school,
four of them being at a new school entirely. By now, I know the routine. You’d think a quasi-veteran
like me would realize that you can never fully prepare yourself for any first day, really. Silly me, I thought
that my first day at Catholic Middle School wouldn’t be at all significant.
I woke up at six o’clock that morning, which was a miracle in itself. Back then, there wasn’t a
thing on this earth that could get me up before 6:45. All that could come out of my mouth was
grumbling- mostly about my new uniform. There hadn’t been a need for one in my family since 3rd
grade, when I moved from the Philippines to a nice public elementary school in the USA. Now that I
had to move out of that school for middle school, it was back to collared shirts and plaid skirts. I
remember a bunch of giggling at my expense, by both my stepmom and my little sister. Maya was four
at the time and laughed whenever someone else laughed, regardless of how funny something actually
was.
Things were different when I first came to St. Mary in 6th grade. The yellow paint used to
consist of all vertical lines, making a dysfunctional and road-rage-stirring parking lot. On one side, the
side nearest to the building and what used to be the 4th, 5th and 6th grade hallway, students would line
up outside, waiting for the bell to send them in.
Mrs. Raftery, the principal who was as new as I was, I learned, led me to the people who
would be my classmates. I’m pretty sure she said something completely original, like, “They won’t bite!”
and left me to attend to some other official matter.
Girls on one side, boys on the other. One of the random bits of information my brain picked
up, as it did when I wasn’t sure what to do next. The errant thought was interrupted, however, as I was
faced with a flood of names, faces and identities. A huge wave of shyness overcame me. My voice was
stuck in my throat, and my head bowed itself all the way down, like there was a weight attached to my
forehead. You need to understand, before I started teaching mass amounts of people in jiu-jitsu, I may
have been one of the socially inept people in my family. (Though that doesn’t say much. I come from a
long line of politicians, business owners and public speakers.) Back then, you literally had to know and
talk to me for a month before I uttered anything other than polite formalities.
My head stayed down for the most part, both literally and figuratively. People were chatting
about ther summer vacation, talking to people they already knew, friends they’d already made.
“Well, I mean, at least it’ll be like everyone’s kind of new, right?” That was my friend Katie
Godley, thinking that I was going to a normal, public school, not a “fancy”, “rich” Catholic school.
Yup, I had thought to myself then, Everyone’s real new here. I mean, it’s not like they’ve
known each other since kindergarten or anything… Oh wait.
So maybe I was the slightest bit bitter about being sent to a new school… In a different town…
Where I knew no one… AT ALL… Fine. Maybe I was more than a little bitter. Sue me.
Come to think of it, I was furious. To me, it didn’t make sense as to why I needed to go to this
private school instead of the public school I would have gone to with all of my friends. But now that I
look back in my 8th grade year, my third year at Catholic Middle School, I can see so much. All of the things
I’ve learned, the experiences I’ve had, all the sights I’ve seen... None of that would have been possible
if my parents hadn’t decided to pull out my roots and send me to a new school. It’s taken me a while-
about two years, in fact,- to finally be able to say I don’t regret coming to Catholic Middle School. I’ve had so
much fun, and I’ve learned so much… I don’t know where I’d be without this school and all the
wonderful people in it.