CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE
This audio interview is part of a series completed by STA journalism students who sat down with middle school students from around Kansas City. We hoped to find out the realities of middle school life, from dating to cliques, from playing violin to playing volleyball. The series was inspired by Ira Glass’s public radio show This American Life and its episode “Middle School.” Please check back each day for the next few weeks to listen to another installment.
by Lindsey Valdiviez
When Cameron Valdiviez made a switch from Catholic school to Public School, he didn’t think much about riding the bus and all the strings attached. Cameron initially stuck to riding with his mom every morning to school, but with a little convincing, he managed to find himself sitting on the yellow bus for the first time.
“All you had to do differently was wake up earlier and go down to the bus stop,” Valdviez said. But Cameron soon learned that having a punctual schedule in the mornings wasn’t the only change, and a few friends on the bus have allowed for him to branch out and feel more comfortable en route to school.
“They all rode with eachother last year and now you’re just the new guy on the bus,” Valdiviez said. Cameron tells us about this experience: He says that having friends and his brother ride the same bus has helped him to become more familiar with the other kids.
