School experiences & friends

Hey, guys my name is Mackenzie. I have 22Q, I also have had four open heart surgeries. I had the IAA- which stands for the Interrupted Aortic Arch, which was corrected, my last surgery was done in Boston, July 2003, I am doing just fine!!! I will be posting new stories once a week or so. This week I am going to talk about my school experiences, and & friends. Thanks for reading! 

I had a great elementary school experience. I had kind teachers, and lots of awesome classmates. I had no problems socializing. That was easy for me. Yah, I was shy, but I open up easily. I went to a lot of different schools. My parents finally decided that "Friend's School" was the right choice for me. I started out there being a 3rd grader. I had a wonderful teacher- Diane. She was understanding, sweet, kind and was absolutely wonderful to me. I had a great experience at Friends school. I had lots of support and extra help there. I then graduated third grade, and went on to the 4th and 5th grade. The next Teacher I had- "Lois", was awesome as well. I started having issues with the math assignments early. I noticed myself, that it was hard for me to do some of the simple equations that she handed out as homework assignments. I couldn't understand why it was hard for me, I looked at the other kids, and they all seemed to understand everything. We'd go over the math assignments in class, and I never wanted to be called on to explain a problem to the class, I was always just sitting there pretending that I knew everything. It was tough. When I entered Middle School, I was in Special Ed. I had wonderful teacher. I had awesome teachers in middle school. Language arts class was the easiest for me, I was able to do well on the assignments, and pass a few tests. Reading class, was okay. Science was challenging. Math was the biggest issue! I memorized all of the multiplication tables up to 12, and new only a little algebra. I did okay on the tests but once I got to high school things got even more challenging. I was still in Special Ed. 9th grade was the worst year for me. I went to a smaller high school that I thought would be good for me, but it turned out to be a total disaster. I hated it! It was difficult for me to make friends there. I tried hard, and tried to open up to a few people that I thought could possibly be a friend, but it didn't work that way. I was alone at lunch, I ate alone, and called my mom everyday at lunch. I would even skip days, and call in sick. I learned how to take the bus when I was a freshman. That was very difficult for me to learn, I had one friend at New Vista (freshman year) who showed me tricks, and taught me the rules when it came to riding the bus. She was my only friend through that year. By May I knew I had to get out of there, and switch schools. I was scared and tried to avoid the bigger high schools, but I had no choice. I either had the decision to go to Boulder High, or Fairview. Fairview I knew was not right for me. By summer, I spoke with my parents and said, I have to switch schools, as I cried explaining to them. They asked me where I wanted to go, I said and chose "Boulder High." As scared as I was, I knew I had to do it. I didn't want to have another miserable year at New Vista. My parents were supportive, and said an "OK!" two weeks later, I shadowed the school. It was HUGH! I said, oh boy to myself. A friend of mine came along on the tour, and she knew I was freaked out. I filled out the paper work and said yes.. I am coming here in the fall. They had an excellent Special Ed program and I met a few teachers, and had meetings. I was excited, and thrilled. I knew it would be scary for a while, you know, the first few days is always hard. I had to learn the building, and find my classes. I was stressed, but I just had a good feeling about the whole thing. Finally school began. The first few days was tough, but I survived. 

Making friends throughout school was easy for me. I had no problems socializing. I was always the center of attention most of the time... I had plenty of friends at Boulder High. My teachers loved me, and Id always make them laugh. 

My grades: In Middle school I did fine. I was average. I got mostly B's, and A minus's on tests, the stuff that I understood. Math quizes & tests, not so great... but I graduated. High School, I graduated with a 3.2! to be continued..... stay tuned!