The Dark Ages

If you are a follower of my blog and enjoy reading it, you would truly enjoy reading my long-time friend, Carrie's, blog. She is a beautiful and humorous writer that talks about a wide variety of topics ranging from religion, to weekend festivities, to her love for her dogs, to literature, and to much, much more!


Today she decided to tackle a blog post about "The Dark Ages" and asked if her fellow Hudson alumni bloggers would join in on the fun! I always enjoy a good challenge... so here goes nothing! 


What exactly are the dark ages you ask? Good question! Take... 

 

Mean girls

PLUS

Awkward girls

And what do you get? Dun Dun Dun... Middle school (AKA the Dark Ages)

Yep, that would be me in the blue hat and blue shirt in that picture. While most middle school girls would try to impress the high school boys by dressing up as hairless kitty-cats or sexy witches for Halloween... I myself, along with some other really cool people, dressed up as a Mexican thug.

Like my goatee?

Middle school was definitely not my time to shine... and I wish my 24 year old self could tell my 13 year old self to just not care what other people thought... considering I don't even keep in touch with 98% of those people now. (Hey what's up 4%, see you at my wedding!!) 

While the popular girls in middle school were too worried about which boy they should date next because the other one was becoming a stage 5 clinger.. I was too worried about making friends and making sure my wardrobe wasn't last year's hand-me-downs!  

In August of 1999, my family moved from Tulsa, Oklahoma to Hudson, OH. Although moving in 6th grade is a terrible and awkward time to start over and make new friends, my sisters totally had it worse. My middle sister, Kim, was in 8th grade when we moved (the grade where girl's claws grow in out and cliques become too strong to break) and my oldest sister, Jen, was a freshman in high school (the grade where people notice that you're new, but fail to say hello). 

My first class was Science with Mr. Gross (how ironic) and I sat at a table of girls who seemed intrigued, yet hesitant, to befriend me. Some of the girls were immediately nice to me and instantly became my friend, while others picked on me for my style of clothes. News flash Joanna, overalls are only cool in Oklahoma.

Oh yes, we were the new, socially awkward Larkin girls who were just trying to find our place in that white picket-fenced city called Hudson.

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A few months went by and I was beginning to make some pretty fun and cool friends. 

One brisk Spring day, I had two of my friends over to roller blade in my neighborhood. I'm not sure who's idea it was to play dodge-ball on roller blades, but at the time it sounded exhilarating! Again, if I could go back in time to tell myself that dodge-ball on roller blades was a bad idea, I would... but then again, if I knew back then what I know now, I wouldn't have such a great story to tell.

As I was rollerblading away from my opponent holding the dodge-ball, I saw in the corner of my eye that she was getting ready to pound me with the ball. In my attempt to escape her throwing the ball at me, I ducked. At this very moment, my roller-blade got caught in a pot-hole and I flew forward, face first, into the concrete of the road. I attempted to catch and save myself with my hands, but that only resulted in me breaking both of my wrists. 

WHAT?

Yes. It's true. So now I just wasn't the new girl from Oklahoma who wore overalls, but I was now the new girl, who wore overalls, with two broken arms. And to make matters worse, I had glasses, had to have my mom wipe me after I used the restroom (TMI? Sorry), and since my clothes didn't fit over my casts, I had to wear my mother's clothes. GASP! Say it ain't so! Yep... and no offense to my mother's wardrobe, but at that age, the last thing a middle school girl going through puberty wants to do is wear her mother's clothes.

I was the definition of awkward. 

I could dig out a picture of those (no exaggeration) horrid, awful, awkward days, but I'm sure those pictures are buried in a very safe place... for a reason. Plus, I wouldn't want to Google "awkward girl with two broken arms" someday and see my picture all over the internet... like this girl:

So yes, 6th grade was not my year, and 7th and 8th grade got a little better. I think I maybe had one boyfriend (which lasted about 3 days, but felt like 3 months) and I think I maybe danced with two boys total at all the middle school dances combined. I was the wallflower. I had a ton of guy friends, but I was never considered the "girlfriend" type. I was always the funny friend who passed along the word of who likes who. I was the middle-school match maker. 

I was determined that it would all change in high school. 

Well, surprise, not much changed in  high school. In all reality, high school is not much different than middle school. Sure you grow older, learn how to drive, develop physically and discover beer, but the cliques remain the same and well, the immaturity of boys remain the same. Although I tried to be more girly by being a cheerleader...

...maybe I didn't try hard enough. I was still the "funny friend that is a girl" to guys. I only had two boyfriends in high school, and although breakups seemed like the end of the world then, boy am I glad those relationships didn't last. 

So Jo(W)anna know what? College, and life after college, were/are my years to shine! I graduated college, have a successful career, a fiance who would do anything for me, best friends that could pass as my sisters, and no broken bones (knock on wood). 

So as my favorite musician, Jason Mraz, would sing, "I'm letting myself off the hook for things I've done, I let my past go past, And now I'm having more fun". "The Dark Ages" have passed and, if anything, they have made me a better and stronger person... even though I did hate those days with a strong passion. So this year may not be your year, heck, even today might not be your day, but there is always next year, there is always tomorrow and there is always hope. So just keep living in the moment and never change who you are! :o)