I found myself with a weird and wacky desire to misbehave. Things only went downhill from there

The recess conversations always went the same way. Everyone would be discussing schools and acceptances, things would start to get heated, and then inevitably someone would turn around to me and say: “It’s okay for you, Tova, your father will figure everything out for you.”

Don’t get me wrong. I think my Dad is awesome for what he does — working on three school boards is not easy, and there are times when I think he wishes he could throw in the towel. Yet he continues because he sees this work as vital, and I admire that greatly. He keeps the schools running when everyone else wants to give up. He’s incredible. But…

I’m the middle child, the most easygoing of the bunch, and my elementary school experiences mirrored that. In those years I barely opened my mouth and couldn’t have stepped out of line if I tried. Of course, I got into high school easily enough. Needless to say, if I hadn’t, my dad has enough pull to make things happen, and he even managed to get them to accept some of my closest friends who were rejected, which was definitely a perk. Some of my classmates were still refused, though, getting into other schools instead. Somehow, in their eyes, this was my fault. Two classmates stopped talking to me altogether after that, giving me a cold shoulder till this day. That part really makes me sad.

Still, that September, I found myself looking wide-eyed at my new school building, with my fresh haircut, starched skirt, and brand-new knapsack, almost as if I was ready to make a fresh start. Which I did, but not quite the fresh start you might expect…

From Day One of high school, something changed inside me. No more was I the meek and mild Tova; I adopted a whole new persona. The first day of school found me becoming the proud bearer of the first “debit” mark in my class — a white sticker branding my homework pad for misconduct in my very first math class. I found myself with a weird and wacky desire to misbehave. Things only went downhill from there.