BTS

 BTS

It was a mixture of dread and anticipation as we pulled on our stiff dungarees, the excess length, for expected growth spurts, cuffed up to the knee. Finding that home room in a hall of chaos before the second bell was dreadful, before the days of orientation. And only knowing who you would have in your class when you scanned the list on the door, or your teacher, if your friends were with you, or if you'd be assigned a seat near the one you secretly admired was all consuming.

It's a wonder we ever made it out of elementary, we didn't dare ponder the dread of middle school, the thugs from across the tracks, the prison life conditions. For now we had found the homeroom and our only aim was not to do anything to cause anyone to laugh or point our way or call upon us to say, who dressed you in those ridiculous dungarees?

Age 9

1964