Spartan Reader: Middle School Podcast Response

The underlying theme that runs through all the sections of the Middle School podcasts is the importance placed on what other people think. While focusing in on two sections, "Blue Kid on the Block" and the "Prologue," it is apparent that other kids' perceptions of you in middle school play a major role in your life. As the nasally voiced young girl in the "Prologue" confirms, everyone is so judgmental during those in between years of middle school.

The young girl, Annie, sounds innocent, with her sweet voice and nervous giggles, but she confesses to worrying about how her peers perceive her. As she finishes reading the letter she submitted to This American Life, she sounds as though she is questioning herself, signing anonymously. The ending of the word anonymous drags out as she reads it, finishing in a higher pitched, questioning tone. This uncertainty in her voice can be accredited to none other than her worry of other kids' opinions.

 The young boy, Leo, from "Blue Kid on the Block," is miserable in his new town and school for the same reason that Annie is afraid to wear her new sweater in front of her friends. The reason behind all this misery and worry is middle school-aged kids. Because he is new to town, Leo feels alone and as though he has absolutely no friends. He says that it is so much harder to make new friends at his age. He spends his days quietly alone in the huge, loud mess of his new middle school. He is unsure of where to go, what to do, and who to talk to in the herd of people. Leo, in his lonely sounding voice, noticed, just like Annie, that the older you get, the more judgmental your peers become. 

The pressures of trying to fit in and being accepted by your contemporaries are always there, whether you are new to school like Leo or have a solid group of friends like Annie. People naturally judge and compete, making it hard to find your place in social life at school.  After listening to both Annie and Leo's stories, their innocence was apparent. They simply want to be well-liked by their classmates. Is that too much to ask? Sadly, sometimes it is. As they will soon learn, not everyone will approve of you, but there is no shame in being yourself and letting your true friends love you for who you are.