Many people can't say that they enjoyed school when they were younger. They think of bullying and awful teachers, and mean girls when the word "middle school" is spoken.These are the people that wished it would go by fast. But I can't relate, and I am so glad that I am lucky enough to say that.

I went to a very small elementary and middle school, my graduating class had less than 20 kids. In fact, in a school that consisted of Pre-K to 8th grade, I think we may have only had 200 or so students.

I had the same friends from preschool to the day I graduated 8th grade. I am so lucky to have made such a strong bond with the three girls I, at that time called my best friends. Looking back now I realize that they really did fit the definition of "best friends"- even better than most of the people I have met so far in my adult life. Because we were such a small class, we had no choice. We were stuck with each other. We learned at a young age how to confront problems within our friend group, and there was never drama that couldn't be solved. We needed each other, and the group wasn't the same when two of us were fighting. If I had gone to a bigger school I doubt I would have learned these skills at such a young age because I could've just ran off to find a different friend group who would support me and (let's face it- this is what happens) be mean to my "ex-best friends".

When you are around the same people everyday for 10, you form bonds that you would never imagine at such a young age, bonds I don't think would have been possible at larger schools where you have different kids in your class every year. When I was younger I hated that my school was so small, I wanted to meet other people, and hang out with my friends from other local towns. It took me moving on to high school and drifting from those people I knew so well to realize how lucky I really was to have gone to such a small school. We knew each others parents, and their parents knew what we liked to eat, they knew our jokes, and we never asked permission to show up to each others houses (most of the time).

When I run into people I graduated middle school with, conversation strikes up so easy. We have so many inside jokes and memories, that I probably wouldn't have if I hadn't gone to Woodbine Elementary. We were such a small, tight-knit class, and because of this, I learned so many things early in life from this school that I wasn't even aware I was learning. I'm not just talking about the Math or English, I am talking about real life things that I am just now realizing I learned so long ago. I learned about the people, I learned how to get over that one time someone threw dirt at me, or kicked a ball at me a little too hard. I learned how to maintain friendships, and I learned how to be the bigger person when the other person didn't have it in them, and most importantly I learned about me. All of these life lessons have helped me in my adult life.

I never realized just how important teachers are when you go to a small school. In classes of 20 or less you get so much one on one time with your teachers (or maybe it's because I was a kiss-up, either is possible). When you're that young you don't appreciate or see how passionate they are about their jobs, and how much they care about you. But now that I am older and in school to hopefully, one day, BECOME a teacher, I want them all to know how much they influenced my life when I was so young. I fell in love with reading and writing because of my middle school English teacher. I realized the love and dedication teachers have towards their students from my middle school Social Studies teacher. I realized how fun classes that you don't even enjoy could be thanks to my middle school Science teacher. I realize now that even though I was AWFUL (and I mean AWFUL. Like seriously, AWFUL) at Math, my teacher did everything she could to ensure I understood the material. And the root of all of the love I have for this school comes from my elementary school teachers, whom I still hug every time I see them. The ones who still ask my younger brothers and my father about me even though I am now almost 20 years old. I hope one day I can make as much of an impact on my students' lives as they did on me. I never thought that the passion I have for education, and the want I have to be a teacher would stem from this little school. Thank you for everything that you've taught me, without me even realizing it.