Have you ever been in class and suddenly had the overwhelming and terrifying thought that you are the only student who doesn’t get it? Have you ever cried in the bathroom and then felt like you’re a loser who cries in the bathroom? Well, you needn’t feel alone because I have been in that same exact boat. Here are some of my Marlborough horror stories through the years!

7th Grade Algebra was probably the most challenging class I have ever taken. Once, on a returned quiz, the teacher wrote, “Meet with me” at the top of the page. The gist of the note was nothing out of the ordinary, but this time there was an extra-special twist: a little cartoon of a sobbing face was written above the “meet with me.” The note was written in a pool of tears.

In 8th Grade, I turned in an English project that I was very proud of and had even had my grandmother photograph me with. My teacher scanned my project, which was a framed collage, and handed it back, saying: “This is not what I’m looking for.” I was crushed.

In 9th Grade, I decided to hand-write an essay. When I tried to turn it in, my teacher told me I had to type it up. I didn’t want to and began to resist. I turned it in handwritten, and my teacher responded by ripping the essay in half. I typed it up.

Once again, I struggled with math in 10th Grade. After one quiz, I excused myself from class, walked downstairs to the faculty bathroom and cried. Then I washed my face and went back to class only to realize that I had missed a crucial part of the lesson while crying.

In 11th Grade, I received an assignment back. The grade wasn’t great, and I commented on it to my teacher, saying, “Wow! This
is the worst grade I’ve gotten
all year!” My teacher’s response? “Really? I thought you’d done worse!”

I know that all these stories are funny, and I laugh at them now, but they weren’t very funny in the moment. I can’t share any senior year horror stories just yet, because I’m still crying about them in the bathroom.