Here is another strange coincidence created by divine timing. Not one I am mad at for sure.
In the middle of my 8th grade year I was living in Chatham on Cape Cod with my mother and step-father. I am the youngest sibling and by the time I was in 8th grade my siblings were not living with us. The sister who is second youngest was spending a year in Denmark as an exchange student and would be back when I went into 9th grade. In the beginning of the school year we were living in a house on the ocean that my oldest sister and boyfriend (her husband now) were taking over once my parents found a home for us in Brockton.
We were going to Brockton because my step father had just found a job there. They began the year commuting from the Cape to Brockton every day while they were house hunting for us. I was alone a lot the beginning of that year. My sister and her boyfriend worked full time and my parents weren't getting home until late in the nights and sometimes staying in hotels. There was uncertainty about where we would end up and when as well. When we were all moved out it would become my sister and her boyfriend's home.
A few months into that first semester my parents found a house for us to rent. They were really happy about it and it was in Brockton. For those that don't know the difference between Chatham and Brockton it is a lot like comparing apples to oranges. Chatham is a tourist town where most US Presidents have homes (so clearly everyone is in a higher tax bracket in that area) and Brockton is listed as one of Massachusetts most dangerous cities. We had lived in Chatham around 7 years. We were only there because my step dad was the high school principal not because we had the money or belonged. Those girls were collecting hundreds of American Dolls and I was getting knock of Cabbage Patch Dolls LOL! And they let me know they knew I was poor. By the middle of 8th grade I truly believed ANYTHING would be better than that town and those people. I wasn't too scared about moving to a city. I started school the second semester that year and fell in love with my city!
I played basketball pretty well and at first I was met with some very hostile girls who assumed I was only on the team because my dad was the principal. There are four junior highs in Brockton, North, South, East and West. Everyone is supposed to attend the school associated with the side of town they lived on. We lived on the very North side of Brockton and my Step-Dad was the principal of West Junior High. The reason my parents chose to sneak me into the West side school was because there had already been a stabbing and rape earlier that year in the North Junior High. (I never saw anyone get raped but did see a LOT of fighting while in school). I ultimately proved myself on the team and in general. To put the icing on the cake I was even suspended once...LOL... by my Step-Dad!
I moved away from Brockton 15 years ago and have just now moved back. In fact, I just enrolled my youngest into the South Junior High, he is in the middle of 8th grade. We are coming from a small, wealthy snobby town too. Nick is loving every second already! He is making and selling beats for rappers and there was no rapping community in that town. He is already getting a lot of musical opportunities and this seems to be perfect!
I was a bit nervous how my son would fit-in in the city. I was praying he would have the experience I had coming here in the middle of 8th grade and it seems to be heading that direction!
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