I really cannot remember a time in elementary school that I wasn’t bullied. Even as a second or third grader I remember being called “Dumbo” because I had huge ears compared to the rest of my body. I actually talked to my mom and dad about getting surgery to make them smaller because it was […]
This photo was taken at the very beginning of seventh grade–my first year in junior high. My friends and I all laugh at this photo now, but I was nothing but serious about my look that day. I had done some babysitting during the summer so I could buy some new clothes for school, and […]
Junior high felt exceptionally awkward for me, as I continued to grow chubbier instead of growing vertically. My freckles were out of control and my confidence was almost non-existent. The only advantage of being a husky 8th grader was that I had a place as a defensive lineman on the football team. I wasn’t always […]
I grew up in a suburb of Omaha, Nebraska. My years in elementary school were years filled with neighborhood bike rides and fireflies. But early on, I knew I was different when I was one of only two kids in my school who had red hair. We didn’t call what the 2 of us put […]
Going into my sophomore year of high school I was 4’11”, 125 lbs and I had a year left on my braces. I was the shortest male I knew and there weren’t a lot females shorter than me. It was tough. I wasn’t happy with physical appearance and it had its challenges. I lacked confidence […]
This is my photo from 8th grade. 8th grade was tough for me, especially because of something that was happening, totally out of my control. During this year, I started to have excessively sweaty hands. That might not sound like a big deal, but my hands weren’t clammy, they were actually dripping wet with sweat […]
I was a quiet kid growing up who kept to myself for the most part. My mother had me involved in piano lesson and scouts. Although these were great programs that brought structure to my life, they were nothing I wanted to brag about in Jr. High. The thought of being rejected or made fun […]
This picture was taken when I was in the 5th grade. I was always the new kid, we moved a lot—I went to 5 different schools for elementary school alone. 5th grade through junior high was the hardest, I had a retainer and my teeth were a mess, in 6th grade I had a terrible […]