8th Grade: Science Fairs, Epcot, an Accomplished Goal, and Fashion 101

It's time for my 8th grade year! Oh, the 90's were upon me. Here is how I made it through 1990-91:

What in the world am I doing you ask? Well, 8th grade brought on the Science Fair at my junior high. My dad, having always been into guns, shooting, and ballistics as a hobby came up with a great idea for my science project. We entitled it "Comparative Ballistics". In this picture, I am shooting a bullet into a 50 gallon drum of water. I did this with a few different pistols with different bullets. We compared the bullets after they had been shot (I don't remember all the details). Long story short, I won 1st place inthe Physics category and 2nd place in the overall judging for the school. This was the first time I had ever won a science fair!

I was still in the band and really enjoying it. We marched in the annual Forest Festival parade in town and had our winter and spring concerts. I also was in the spelling bee this year. Being 2nd grade spelling bee champ has it's advantages ;-) I remember being on stage and the principal calling out the word to be spelled. For some reason, I could NOT understand what he was saying. I asked for a sentence, for him to repeat it, and finally for the meaning. I realized he was saying "bagel" and what did I do...I spelled it "bagle". I got out on such a basic word!! I was so upset at myself.

Yes folks, beware the MULLET...UGH! This is what happens when you ask my mother to give you bangs. She believes that bangs include your entire head except the back. Naturally curly hair plus mullet equals disaster. The good thing about this picture was that my ears are pierced! My Dad finally gave in the summer before school started and let me pierce my ears. We were in the mall in Valdosta, GA and he gave me the go-ahead. I was THRILLED. He was never into pierced ears on young girls. He wanted me to be old enough to make my own decision and take care of them myself. I felt like I was the only kid without earrings. NOT ANYMORE!

Could I have looked anymore like a dork? HA! I think we all look like this at 14. 8th grade was pretty good to me. I had my first big crush who happened to sit in front of me in most of our classes. All of my teachers sat us in ABC order so he was always there! I still have a bookmark that he signed..awww. I don't think he ever knew I really liked him. I kept that kind of stuff VERY private. I was devastated when I found out that he was going out with a 7th grader. UGH!

I remember getting to wear makeup for the first time this year. My mom let me wear powder and clear mascara. What is the point of clear mascara????? Anyway, I felt SO grown up sitting in school with my makeup on. I remember my Cover Girl compact in the most pale shade of Ivory...ha! If you're my age, you've got to remember when Milli Vanilli was hot! Yeah, I had the cassette and we all were in love with the music....before the scandal broke. Girl, You Know It's True :-)


WHAT was I wearing?!! This was from the 8th grade Valentine's Dance. I thought I looked good! Royal blue is my favorite color so I went all out. I think the mullet takes away from the complete look.
The entire 8th grade class went on a trip to Epcot this year with our science teacher, Mr. Brannan. This was an annual event for the 8th graders. I do remember being on the charter bus in the junior high parking lot and we ended up leaving without a kid. He was late and we waited about 15 minutes. Then, Mr. Brannan said we were leaving since he couldn't get there on time! My Dad chaperoned and we had a great time. This was my first time to Epcot. I remember he bought me a t-shirt. I was still a member of the unpopular club so when it came time for everyone to pick their groups, it was hard when nobody picked me. I was in a group with people I wasn't really aquaintances with. The popular group all wore their matching t-shirts and Umbro soccer shorts. I was so jealous as I wanted to be a part of the group. I had my Guess overalls on. It was a really good trip and I had a lot of fun hanging with my Dad.

Those Umbro-shorted girls were the same ones who were awful to me during a church lock-in. We were still going to church at First Baptist and had a lock-in one night. I remember us all laying in our sleeping bags in our Sunday School room and I kept smelling something minty around me. Well, they had put toothpaste in my hair. A few other girls went to the sink with me and I tried to get it out. It was all matted and stuck. When I got back to my sleeping bag, they had poured water all over it. It's amazing how much the hurtful things stick with a person. Needless to say, after a few more weeks of Sunday School (Which were more like gossip sessions), I quit going. It just wasn't worth it when the girls were so awful to me and the leaders did nothing about it.

The Guess jeans craze was in full swing and I HAD to have a pair of the overalls. I helped pay for them too since they cost $83.46 after tax and my mother refused to pay that. Can't say I blamer her! We got them at Maas Brothers in the mall. My mother told me that I better wear them my senior year of high school, as much as they cost. Well, I actually did! I remember having every color of Sam & Libby ballet slipper shoes too. Those were all the rage. We found a shoe store in Tallahassee that sold them at a decent price so my mom got me a few pair. I loved those things. I had to have the white basic Keds shoes too!

Near the end of 8th grade, I decided to try out for Junior Varsity Cheerleading. This would be my 3rd attempt at trying to be a cheerleader. There weren't a whole lot of girls trying out this year, which was a good thing. Also, the JV squad had 14 spots instead of 12 so I knew I had a better shot of making it. I ended up with a fantastic partner, Summer, after my original partner dropped out of tryouts. Summer had been a cheerleader both years at the Junior High so I knew I had another advantage. I remember going to her house and her mom helping us with our cheers and stunts in the driveway. I remember tryouts like they were yesterday. Summer and I did our very best and I felt I HAD to have this in the bag. I remember nervously waiting in the locker room in the high school gym, where tryouts were held, and waiting on the principal of the high school to call the numbers of the girls who made it. I remember they called #14, my friend Felicia. Then, after a few more numbers, he said #14 again. Then he said, Oh, I mean #4. I was #4!!!!! I FINALLY made the cheerleading squad!! Summer made it again as well and we were all of to UCA Cheerleading camp at Florida State University that summer.

This was also the year that the name of my school changed. We went from Taylor County Junior High to Taylor County Middle School. Oh the HORROR the cheerleaders had trying to figure out how they would change all the names of the cheers to fit with the new school name. I laugh so hard about it now because it was such a huge dramatic deal back then. I also remember getting straight A's again this year!! This would be the last time that would ever happen until I hit college. My math teacher originally had given me a B and I was so mad! I remember my mother calling him andhe said I was missing some assignments. Well, he never recorded the grades. I had them all in my math folder with grades on them. It's a good thing I kept those. They bumped me to an A and I had a beautiful report card! I'll never forget Mr. Clayton, my math teacher. Every time we would get the slightest bit loud, he would always say, "C-12, C-12, give me my class back C-12!" He had a lisp, so it was always so funny when he said that. He was a sweet teacher. Oh, and C-12 was our room number.

Overall, 8th grade was a good year. I was a member of the National Junior Honor Society and we helped paint the inside of the "pods" at school. A pod was the 8th grade rooms, B pod was 7th grade, and C, D, & E pods were a mixture of both grades. I looked forward at the end to be moving to the high school, which was just across the street at the time. Even though I still didn't have any really good friends, the aquaintances I had were becoming more and more. I didn't feel as lonely in this new town as I once did. Things were looking up.