My Favorite Middle Schooler's New Year's Resolution

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This morning, my daughter asked me what I wanted for my birthday. I thought for awhile and then I asked her to write something for my blog. Here is my gift... wow...I am so impressed by her intelligence and wit (She takes after her mother!)...I hope you are, too.  Love you Cassie! 

A Middle Schooler's New Year's Resolution

My dad asked me to write a blog for him as a birthday gift… this week he turns even older! Here it is…my New Year’s Resolution and my gift to my dad… from a Middle Schooler’s Perspective. He actually asked me to write 10 resolutions. 10! Really Dad?

I am a pretty great kid. I get good grades, do all of my homework without being asked, dance for a competitive team and help take care of my little brother, plus I deal with all of my dad’s bad jokes. I mean, can you imagine being the kid of a middle school principal and a middle school counselor? Ok, so my room isn’t always straight, but who’s perfect? So, since I spread myself thin already, I came up with one resolution I think most middle schoolers would respect.

At my school, each “group” sits at certain tables – table 14 is the Nerds, table 6 is the Jocks, table 2 is the Goths, table 21 are the class clowns, table 23, which is really the detention table, are the “Bad Boys” or the “Gangsta’s” as they call themselves, although they have never been near a city nor gang activity. And then there is my table, table 7, the “Goodie Two-Shoes.”  Tables come about by natural evolution and political power. The presidential elections have nothing on middle school cliques, i.e. read table seating, and popularity. We have more polls in middle school than the Iowa Caucus, polls that are conducted daily by gossip (for example texts, passed notes, emails, and of course face to face conversation). Rumors are the fuel that keeps all students alert. And it isn’t just important to know the most information about the events going on in the school, but to know it first or have the most juicy details about the most recent tragedy. Really, at lunch, it is amazing that people eat given how much gossip is spilling from their mouths!

I know teachers and parents are always telling us, “Don’t gossip,” “Don’t spread rumors,” etc, etc, etc. Urgh. I know it isn’t nice but you need to know your place in the 7^th grade world. Don’t you want us to understand political boundaries for when we grow up? And isn’t that somewhat the focus of political disagreements? Gossip and spread rumors about each other? Misunderstandings that can turn friends into enemies?

Ok, back to my resolution! I resolve to try to not engage in gossip in any way for one whole school week. I will not text, email, discuss nor listen any information that would sounds remotely like a soap opera. But I want a resolution in return. I want the adults to stop talking about the kids, to stop listening to Inside Edition, shows like The Real Housewives of anywhere or even turn off the Nightly News when it even starts to hint at names like the Kardashians! I shouldn’t stop there, though, what about the political commercials that say such nasty things about their opponents? Well, you get the idea.

I will do what the principals, counselors and teachers ask – stop gossiping and stop rumors for one whole week. But I want you to stop, too!

Happy Birthday! Love you Dad!