Day Care

My mom and dad put me in full-time day care programs as soon as I turned six weeks old because they both worked a lot. Most days I was dropped off as soon as they opened, 6:30 a.m., and was picked up near their closing time, 6:30 p.m. I remained in various day cares until I turned twelve years old. There was one location that was really bad, but the others were safe. This was the first of my school experiences.

6 weeks old

12 years old

Elementary School

Kindergarten - Fourth Grade

I would go to elementary school in between my mornings and afternoons at day care from kindergarten through fourth grade. I really enjoyed these five years of my schooling, and I was a good, hardworking student. I loved to read and write, and I even had a fondness for math. From what I can remember, I really liked all of my teachers.

Intermediate School

Fifth & Sixth Grade

My fifth and sixth grade years probably could not have looked more different from each other. In fifth grade I was still very studious and an engaged learner. However, with things going on at home, sixth grade was a year of rebellion with trips to the principal's office, notes home to parents, and extra parent-teacher conferences. I loved my teachers from fifth grade, one of them is even a big reason I decided to become a teacher myself. My sixth grade teachers, on the other hand, were not my biggest fans, and the feeling was mutual. Fifth grade was also the last year I went to a day care.

Middle School

Seventh & Eighth Grade

Sports had always been a big part of my life, and my free-time, but middle school meant that I got to bring some of that love to school with me, thanks to the addition of athletics period. Although middle school began strong and brought back an excitement to go to school, it was also the same time that my mental illnesses really started to impact me. I was severely depressed and very anxious, and I thought I was alone.