Marisol's new day ~ #tweenblogging,#tweengirls,#hispanic,#tweengirls,#selfimage,#peerpressure

Marisol was in 6th grade.She loved when Saturday and Sunday came around.School was not a happy place for Marisol and she did not tell her parents why school was so awful for her. Marisol was born in Mexico and her family moved to San Diego when she was in kindergarten.Her kindergarten teacher was so nice and learning was so much fun with Mrs.Cook.The teacher taught her how to read,count,paint pictures,and sing songs.Marisol smiled and gave her teacher a hug every day as she left the classroom to go home. Things had changed now.Marisol had begun to grow very fast in third and fourth grade.She was taller than all of the girls and most of the boys as she entered 6th grade.She was 5 feet,2 inches tall and wore a size 7 shoe. Marisol was different and wanted to fit in with the other girls.Her mother told her that she must not worry about how tall she was.She told Marisol that she had to learn to like her body.No matter how she tried to believe her mother,she knew what was waiting for her at school. Some of the boys and girls had begun to point and whisper about her in class and in the hallway.Marisol could hear them call her "bigfoot" as she walked into the classroom.She would often ignore them.At home, she would go to her room and cry. One day,Marisol and one of her friends were coming out of the school cafeteria when Coach Stevens stopped her.Coach Stevens was the basketball coach of the 7th/8th grade girl's team.She needed a tall girl to rebound the basketall during the games. She asked Marison if she wanted to try out for the team. Marisol was surprised and excited and told her that she would ask her parents if it was okay. She had not played basketball before! Yeah! This was something new and she wanted to go for it! That night,Marisol asked her parents if she could try out for the team.Her parents told her she could if she wanted to.They also told her to keep making good try grades.Marisol was happy and talked to the coach the next day that she wanted to try out for the team. Marisol made the team and practiced after school for the next three weeks.She played in her first game and her parents rushed home after work to go to the games.They were so proud of her! Playing basketball with the other girls made her feel so good and she liked being a part of a group.The team got along real good and she went to parties and sleepovers with some of the team members. Today,Marisol still hears the kids call her "bigfoot" and other ugly names.But now it did not bother her.She had new thoughts about her height.Her new thoughts about herself were so cool.They made her understand something.She understood that she was tall and "so what?".Marisol saw herself in a new way, the way she felt in kindergarten with Mrs.Cook. Marisol knew that she was a STAR and had skills.The ugly words were just that... just words,not fact! Keep smiling, Marie

Friend Story ~ #friends,#friendship #tweenblogs,#adolescence

Missi was friends with Colleen,(the new girl at school)Missi would often see Colleen in the cafeteria and after school while waiting on the bus. Colleen had 4 brothers and 1 other sister in her household,in addition to her parents.They had just moved to Los Angeles from Honduras.Colleen spoke Spanish but was learning English. Missi did not live close to Colleen but she decided to be friends with her. Missi knew how it felt to be the new girl in school and in a neighborhood.Colleen did not have nice clothes to wear to school.Sometimes she wore the same shirt for two days in a row.This did not matter to Missi.She liked talking to Colleen and learning about her family and her culture.They ate fried plantains in her country.They also ate beans,rice,tortillas and coconut. There were days when Colleen did not have a pencil for class.Colleen gave Missi a beautiful bracelet that was made in Honduras.Missi would buy extra fruit or a snack and share it with Colleen during lunch time.The girls would laugh and talk and Colleen would teach Missi Spanish words such as: "comida" means food.Missi wondered how it would feel to live in a country where most of the people spoke Spanish.Missi thought that she would feel isolated and left out.Wow...Missi would freak out! Missi felt good about having a friend like Colleen.She told her mom that it was fun to learn about other kids.... especially kids that are different from herself! make a new friend... Sweet talk, Marie