Have people ever wondered what it is like for the new kid at school? Or, that one kid that doesn't fit in with anyone else? Have they ever wondered why they switched schools?  Many people have to overcome problems and struggles in their lives but in the end it almost always makes their life better and richer. Like putting manure on a plant and helping it to grow. When I was younger and in third grade I had quite a few struggles and problems of my own. Little did I know but I was about to switch schools.       

        
I was that one kid that didn't fit in for my final two years of school at Elementary School. I originally started elementary school at A different school but then switched schools after my third year because the principal, Mrs.Antcliff, had a huge grudge on me and for some reason absolutely hated me. For example, one time when I was only in second grade and coming inside from the playground I had my arm on my friend's shoulder. She saw that, completely freaked out and brought me straight to the office. She never even asked anybody what happened, not even the friend that my arm was around. She just took me to the office and made me call home. When nobody picked up the phone she made me leave a message while I was crying. This happened multiple times and in the mornings when I would say, “Hello” she wouldn’t even answer and would just glare.

As soon as my mom heard the second message that I left, she marched over to the elementary school. When she got there she said (I quote), “A mother or father should never hear his or her little son or daughter on the answering machine barely able to talk because of how much they are crying. Saying why they went to the office and why it was wrong and how they should be punished for what they did”. Mrs. Antcliff just responded, “Okay, I won't do that to your kid anymore.” When she said that my mom responded in a very soft and slow voice, “?When I? speak of my child I speak for all children and if I ever hear that you do that to another child I will see to it that you never do again.” Then she simply walked out.

Also another reason that I switched schools was because of my teacher Mrs.Ranger.  Mrs.Ranger would often send me to another room with the special education kids and with kids the school believed needed help making friends because she didn't like me for whatever reason. She also somehow got me into a special group for kids with divorced parents even though my mom and dad were together.  Now I don't believe what Mrs.Ranger did was as horrible as what Mrs.Antcliff did but I think what she did was still wrong. She also made me do different work than other kids at times and treated me like I was a kid that didn't know anything and wasn't smart. I think sometimes because she treated me that way I thought I was a kid that didn't know anything or needed help making friends. A third grader that didn’t know enough to even be in the first grade.
                       
One day my mother found out about this special group.  She decided to go to Go to the school and have a short talk with Mrs.Ranger about why I was in the group. Let's just say it was a little longer than a short talk. Now, at the time I liked being in the special group because I got to play games while other kids were in class but Mrs.Ranger denied I was even in the group at all. However, mom eventually found out she lied and went right back to the school to sort things out.  To this day I don't know what my mom did during her second talk with Mrs.Ranger but the next day I was out of the special group and Mrs.Ranger never treated me like I was a special kid again.   

                
Even though my mom basically took care of the problems I still switched schools and went to Lakeland the following year. That was one of the biggest challenges I ever faced, not only because I didn’t know anyone and wasn’t with my old friends from My old school but also because I was looked at as “that one weird new kid” , the kid who didn’t fit in with anyone else. This was surprisingly harder than it sounds. In fact, sometimes when I would come home I would cry and talk about how I wanted to go back to my old school. However, that eventually stopped because one day I made a few new friends at recess. It was very cold and wet and I simply walked outside and they were on me like flies on a sandwich during a picnic in the summer. Although I liked my old friends from Mill Creek much more I think I started to realize there was no longer a possibility of going back there and I would have to adapt. After some time I ended up adapting to some extent but new friends weren't the only thing I was getting. I was also meeting new teachers and finding it easier to find my way around the new school.           

In the end I guess it wasn't so much the move of schools but the fact that a teacher and the principal I was with for all that time really in a way changed my life. Now I'm not saying that all changes in people's lives are perfect and great, because they aren't. All that I'm trying to say is that because I had Mrs. Ranger and Mrs. Antcliff my life was strongly changed. Everything that came out of this wasn't necessarily bad. I believe that if I didn't have this experience I’d be much different. Having this experience gave me a whole different outlook, view and opinion on things. It taught me how to adapt and overcome and also made me realize that new kids need to feel welcomed. I would much rather have something terrible happen to me than to someone else. I now have the ability to help the next kid.