Turn Back Tuesday - The sweet surprise of the awkward years

So fellow blogger and efriend Missie at Growing Up Geeky last week was talking about her  teen years and it got me thinking about those few years.  You know those years I'm talking about.  Those the awkward ones.  The years that almost no one looks good.  Because I was an early bloomer...for me those years are fifth, sixth and Seventh grade.  Ages 11-13.  The years of braces.  The years of acne before seeing a dermatologist (let alone learning makeup tricks to hide them).  The years of funny clothing choices.  The years of feeling like an outside in your own skin.  Yep, those years.

*Note, here is where I would stick a picture of my awkward self...except that I have just looked through scanned photos of my childhood that my father has passed on to me...and those years appear to be missing. Hhhhmmmm.   I guess none of us want the evidence of that time digitized LOL.   You have to take my word of what a mess I was.

I personally am very thankful of those years.  It gave me a sweet surprise at the end.  My friends.  Let me explain... In elementary school I had moved in the middle of first grade.  Not knowing anyone made me scared.  And quiet.  And for the next few years, I was myself at home but at school I was a bit of someone else.  I did what I thought was "right", what was "popular".  I did what would get me friends.  Then in fifth grade, my body started to change.  Well, if we're being honest it actually started happening in 4th grade...but I could hide my starting boobs beneath my clothes then.  And I started my period when I was ten.  But then fifth grade happened.  My boobs became noticeable, my acne started, I started (secretly) shaving my legs.  And I'll be honest....I started to have B.O as kids do.  My friends at the time started to distance themselves from me.  And by sixth grade they started to drop me as a friend all together.  So I reverted to my home style defense mechanism.  Sarcasm.  And not subtle sarcasm.  Mocking sarcasm.  Nothing deflects your pain, like making fun of others.  And if I had been picking on the nerd - this might have won me back into my former popular group of friends.  But I was mad at them.  And I was a nerd in my heart, I watched Star Trek: The Next Generation, had comic books, I was in band, etc.  So who did I mock?  Yep, those popular girls that were mean to me.  And I started to make friends that I don't even remember noticing before then.  We didn't have the newest most fashionable clothes.  We were in band.  We all may have been going through our awkward stage.  But what I knew was that they excepted me, for me.  And they laughed at my jokes.  And it was OK to be silly around them.

And yes, by the end of 7th grade, I shed the ugly braces.  I saw a dermatologist.  I started wearing makeup to coverup the breakouts that came even with the meds.  I excepted that almost everyone had boobs by now (although, none as HUGE as my poor boobs), and shaved their legs.  I (thankfully) I started to remember to wear deodorant every day.  The one thing I didn't shed? My new found friends.  The end of the movie Stand By Me ends with Gordy saying "I never had any friends as good as the ones I had when I was 12.   Jesus, does anyone?"  I'm sure many would say yes.  But let me assure you, I am not one of them. Two of my best friends then, are to this day- - still my best friends.  I know I would have grown up a very different person if not for this troubled time in my life.