I've heard that how you were in 6th grade is the real you.  I'm not sure if this is accurate but it's definitely got me thinking.  Theres no way thats the real me. 

In 6th grade I was manipulative, controlling, and loved by adults.  I went to a small private school and there were only about 15 people in our whole class.  I ruled over everyone like a freakin dictator.  At the time I didn't see it that way at all, neither did my friends.  I was the one who would come up with all of the games we would play.  I made the rules.  I told others what to do.

We would always play this game we called Plutonians.  It was a game about aliens from different planets.  We all chose our favorite planet and thats where we were from.  It was basically playing house with a twist.  After a few months of playing Plutonians it turned into "follow Jackie's orders".  I convinced everyone that Pluto was the best planet (my planet) and therefore had power over all the others.  Eventually I had my friends being my dogs and pushing me around on the marry-go-round whenever I wanted.  They would sweep the playhouse if I told them to.  They would do whatever I said.  The whole time they were still my really good friends and didn't care how I acted.

One time this girl Sam transferred to our school during the year.  I think I saw her as a threat so I tried to make her leave.  She really was a nice girl and never did anything wrong to me, but I didn't like her.  One day I wrote her this mean letter telling her that she smelled and was dirty and that no one liked her.  She cried because of it.  I feel bad about that to this day.

I might have been mean but I always had the admiration of my teachers.  Not to brag, but I was the smartest one in my 6th grade class.  My teachers loved me for that.  They would give me extra work and make things harder for me just because they could tell I loved to learn.  I enjoyed it.  My 6th grade teacher, Mrs. Beabout, was always a strange teacher.  She really stressed weird things in her teaching style.  Once a week in the springtime we would go to the lake and have to birdwatch for an hour.  She always loved the notes I took compared to everyone else.  I was the only one who genuinely enjoyed birdwatching.  Why wouldn't she love me?

Then when it came to geography I was the master.  Mrs. Beabout and Mrs. Hayes also loved me for this.   By the end of the year we were supposed to know every country in the world and where it's located.  I did it with enthusiasm.  To this day I still know every single one of them and can say them off of the top of my head.

I really do wonder if the 6th grade me is the real me.  I think in someways I'd like that, but in other ways not so much.  I like to think I've grown since then.