How did you find the transition from primary to secondary school..?

mcmanaman

It may seem an unlikely topic to bring up for discussion considering it is well over a decade,1994,since I moved to 2nd level and also because it is not something I think about that much except on odd occasions such as this.As I referred to above,1994 was the year I moved to Secondary school.The World Cup had taken place in America that summer and football is something I associate with that summer.My sixth class friends and I bade farewell to Primary school in June that year.I was actually looking forward to starting at my new school.I would also add that I always knew it would be different but didn't realise just how much !

The thing that caused most problems during the transition was the issue of self-confidence.It had always been pretty frail when I was a kid, most likely to do with a negative childhood experience I had, but in Primary school it could be managed because it was a relatively small and close knit school.Unfortunately when I moved to Secondary it soon showed itself as a big problem.I had always been a good student but my academic performance during my Junior Cert years - 1994-97- was especially poor.
Perhaps Primary school was a bit of a comfort zone and I just wasn't mature or confident enough to deal with the move.

Summer 1996 is one specific period during that whole era which stands out.I had just finished my 2nd year house exams with one of my elder sisters sitting her Leaving Cert exams in June.Euro '96 was taking place in England at the same time.We had a family holiday for two weeks in France up to mid-July.I met this girl called Caroline on that holiday.She was slightly younger than me and from Louth.Both her and her brother were part of my sister's group(of friends).While I can't be 100 % certain,I did think both of us liked one another but were too shy to make anything happen.It was kinda like a cute attraction if you get my drift.I thought about her alot the rest of that summer.

The rest of the summer holidays passed quickly as they usually tend to do and my sister's L.C results day was soon to arrive.Around that period,we had gone to stay at my Uncle's house for a few days (he lives in a neighbouring town)as we usually did around August each year.I brought my bike with me on the trip and cycled around the sidestreets of the town away from the heavy traffic of the main street.I can recall in particular one wet and dull afternoon/evening when I was up the town on my bike.I had my bike parked across the road from a small fastfood restaurant and then started to cycle away.It may be almost 14 years ago but what I associate with that day in particular,and other stuff from around that time, is the fact that my sister would soon be heading off to college but I was in a personal 'malaise' and facing into what didn't prove to be an especially great academic year for a number of reasons,incl getting verbally picked by a group of 5th year boys which was not a pleasant experience. Caroline wasn't far from my thoughts either.

So that is my story.What were your experiences ? Can you relate to what happened to me or was your transition quite smooth ?

MC