American Life Radio

I found this radio program long and repetitive, however I found them interesting and on point.  Each story made me relate to a time in my childhood or a story I have heard from a family member or friend.  I found the stories confusing because they followed multiple children and aspects of life.  I wish the program would have covered less students and more aspects of their lives.  The radio program does tell you from a tween's perspective about how terrible middle school was and shows that all students feel the same way about these awkward years.
The problem is that you come into middle school as a young child and need to figure out how to survive by meeting the right people and finding the place and support for you.  At this time you experiment,  are socially awkward, deal with drama, relationships, being made fun of, peer pressure, stress, and uncertainty. The first program related the most to me and my middle school situation.  The first girl  didn't want to stand out with her clothes, she wore stuff people would like.  Even though she loved her new clothes she was nervous  someone would not like it or would made fun of her for wearing it.  At this age fear of judgement is so apparent.  This relates to readings and the activity we did in class.  Middle school students just want to be accepted and to fit in, how to dress was and is an important part of acceptance .  At this age they are easily upset with what they wear and how they look because they don't want to be humiliated.   They want to hang out on the cool side with the right people because they are insecure and do not know who they are.