Preface

Five days have passed since the Zhongkao exam. Now, I can finally reflect on my three years in middle school.

Beginning

I'm not from Mianyang.

But I spent almost fifteen years in Mianyang—kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, and even the high school that would start in two months, I would still spend in Mianyang.

Honestly, the time I spent at my hometown adds up to less than a year.

Why?

I don't know, because I have to listen to my parents—they say the quality of education here is high.

But isn't education in Nanchang not as good as in a third-tier city?

I don't know, because there are no standards for comparison.

Mianyang is said to be a third-tier city, but the level of education far surpasses most cities in the province. (Mianzhong and Chengdu No.7 Middle School, in some contexts, can hold their own.)

So let's just believe them for now.

Admission

There was also a bit of recruitment talk (the practice of siphoning top students from primary schools to middle schools). I was one of the ones recruited by Chengdu No.7 Middle School.

it's quite tongue-twisting

What does this mean? The primary-to-middle school exam is basically irrelevant (if you are assigned by district, you'd be directly placed into opposite Eight Middle School)

For me as a non-local student, junior high was no longer a worry.

Hurdles

For various reasons, I got along with people poorly since childhood. As a result, my personality became somewhat solitary.

Fortunately, in the last two years of elementary school, things improved. But then middle school came.

That meant—the connections I had built in primary school were all invalidated.

At the start of the three years of middle school, my social connections were still poor—as usual, I couldn't get along with others.

Back then, North City hadn't split off yet, so many North City primary school graduates went straight to No.7 Middle School.

In such a huge class, only three students were from the same primary school; let alone another student from a different campus.

This led to a problem: I barely knew their memes/jokes. (I had just gotten 2G network)

Later, a girl started spreading my rumors; soon, ten by ten, a hundred by hundred, the whole class knew.

For three years in middle school, I kept wondering how to blend into the group. Many people said you should maintain your own independent personality. But may I ask: have you tried it yourself?

If you want to blend in, you can only go with the jokes, becoming the butt of the joke (to the extent that later my name became 'Cold Joke').

Until now, I still don't know how to fit into the group.

Academics

As a student admitted by recruitment, my grades were naturally not bad. At least the A-level threshold could be reliably met. What does this mean (๑•̌.•̑๑)ˀ̣ˀ̣

Getting into Nanshan is definitely not a problem (the older generation often says: Grandma, I want to study at Nanshan without the three essential moves, don't even think about getting into Nanshan)

At that time, I didn't think I could study at Mianzhong, so until the second year of middle school, my goal was always Nanshan.

Then, at the end of the third year, the top three in the class (including me) were invited by Nanshan for a free-food visit, hinting us not to apply to Mianzhong.

Then, Mianzhong called the parents, inviting me to visit on the weekend (they said it was a visit, but it was basically brainwashing + free meals). To be fair, the food at Mianzhong was really delicious 😅

Under a bombardment in Mianzhong, my first choice for high school was Mianzhong (before the network was cut off, Nanshan said that if I got in they could waive tuition, but considering I didn't lack the 1,000-something yuan, I still chose Mianzhong)

As for the final result, I naturally successfully got into Mianzhong.

Let me show you what the admission notice looked like:

You could say, it's actually pretty nice

Campus Fair

In early June, the school held a campus fair. It mainly involved earning prize tickets and exchanging them for food. Now, I only remember that day we had a lot of fun, but the desolation after it ended was even more memorable.

Three years of middle school, busy and tiring, finally concluded abruptly with a single prize ticket.

No matter how you cut it, it's tangled; separation sorrow, a flavor unlike any other in the heart.

End

Three years of middle school, twelve springs and autumns, 1015 days and nights, ended in a blink. To be honest, my middle school was not up to standard, because I didn't grow much. But judging by grades, my middle school was a success, because I smoothly got into the highest-ranked high school in Mianyang—the Sichuan Mianyang High School.

Before, I eagerly awaited Zhongkao's arrival—because Zhongkao meant a homework-free summer. But now, my heart feels empty. After thinking it through, I decided to write this article to sum up this imperfect middle school.

End of this post; written in the early morning of 2024/6/25.