MWA #1 My First Day of School

In the sixth chapter of Bless Me, Ultima, it is Tony's first day of school. His mother is very excited for him. At birth he chose the pen and the paper as his fate, which explains why his mother claims him to be a scholar. On the way to school he runs into another boy on the bridge. It is the Vitamin Kid. Tony has a head start, being half way across the bridge already, but the Vitamin Kid still leaves him in the dust. When Tony gets to school, he is scared and wishes for his mother. As the teacher introduces him to the class, the other children point and laugh because he cannot understand what she is saying. The only language he knows is Spanish. This makes Antonio feel sad and alone. Later he meets George and Willy who are like him, their first language is Spanish.

This passage reminds me of my first memory of school. It was a cool morning in September. The time was about six thirty in the morning. I faintly remember my mother and father dressing my brother and I. I was half asleep, lying limp as my mother dressed me. She directed my body, she was the puppeteer and I the puppet. On the way to school my eyes slowly opened and closed, my face pressed against the car door, as I attempted to wake up. I did not fully awaken until we entered the classroom. The glaring lights made it hard to open my eyes, but at the same time they made it hard not to wake up.

As my mother put me down from her arms and said goodbye, I began to cry. She turned her back to me and walked away. I felt like she was abandoning me. Luckily, my brother and I had the same class, so I was not entirely alone. Having him there gave me some comfort. It took me awhile to warm up to the other children and the teachers. Until then, I followed my brother around as if I were his shadow. I looked up to him. I thought he was so cool and wanted to be like him.

Eventually I found a friend, her name was Dominique. She was a round faced brunette, with long curly hair. Her eyes were brown and almond shaped, and her smile was thin and sharp. Her laugh was light and soft. She came up to me and asked me if I wanted to play house with her. We went to the play kitchen and pretended to cook. In the middle of us eating our pretend meal, a smiling boy came over to greet us. His name was Joshua. He had short, spiky, black hair and light pale skin. The three of us played all day. We played on the monkey bars, the slides, the swings, we did puzzles, rode the big wheelers, and so much more. We had a blast and became good friends. They made me feel comfortable and I no longer had to follow my brother's every move. Having new friends gave me a confidence I never had. Kind of like how Antonio found George and Willy, I found Josh and Dominique.

One day, as we were playing on the big wheels, going round and round, Joshua accidentally knocked me off my big wheel. He was going so fast, next thing you know he ran into my big wheel and I went crashing to the floor. I could feel the flesh on my knees and elbows peeling off as they were scraped against the concrete. It hurt so bad and I let out a loud cry. Josh and Dominique tried to comfort me. Before any of the teachers could get to me, my brother rushed over. He took one look at my wounds and his nostrils flared and his eyes grew wide with anger. He knocked Josh to the ground and punched him. It was amazing how much power my brother had. Josh fell straight to the floor and he was almost twice the size of my brother. At that point the shock distracted me from the pain.

It all happened so fast. The teachers hurried over and yanked the boys a part from each other. I was mixed with emotion. On one hand I was glad to know that my brother would defend me and protect me. On the other hand, I was sympathetic for my friend who was hurt. I knew that he did not mean to injure me, it was unintentional. But being kids, all was forgiven rather quickly and we were once again at play. It's funny how as we get older, forgiveness is harder to practice.

I will never forget that first day of school, because it impacted me in so many ways. For one, I made new friends, which was the first step in me breaking out of my shell. Like Antonio, I felt out of place, but meeting new kids that shared the same interests and that I got along with made me feel a lot better. My shyness is something I still struggle with, but I have definitely come along way since then. I used to clam up and not want to share anything with anyone. I would resist the pressures of sharing thoughts, unless it was with someone I knew very well. Also, it was the first sign of violence I saw from my brother, which would continue. After getting in trouble multiple times for beating up other kids, he would start taking his anger out on me. This influenced the displaced anger I had later in life. Luckily, both my brother and I have learned to deal with our anger in healthier ways. I also learned it was okay that my mother had to leave me with someone other than my grandparents. It was the start to my independence.