Short Story Sixth Grade Self By Julie Orrigner - 972 Words

The short story that is being analyzed is titled, â€Å"Note to Sixth Grade Self† written by Julie Orrigner. The central idea of this short story is a grown woman reflecting the troubles she faced in the time that she spent in the sixth grade. The main focus was the author trying to illustrate the struggles she experienced as an adolescent girl growing up in a world where she felt she was outnumbered by the popular students and the girls that were more pristine than she. This story beautifully illustrates the challenges many women face growing up and the insecurities that people face as they develop as humans. The author faced troubles being viewed as an awkward social outcast; the story is written in a way that illustrates the thoughts process and anxiety that a typical sixth grader would feel in a position where he or she feels out of place. One of the themes that is present in the short story is the constant feeling of anxiety that the girl is facing in her every day battle in the eight hour school day. She is constantly acknowledging the presence of the popular kids and the mannerisms they have in the battlefield known as school and how she should try to go and adapt them. In the introduction of the story the narrator immediately explains the struggles she deals with just in the realm of figuring out with whom to eat, â€Å"Dont even bother trying to sit with Patricia and Cara. Instead, try to sit with Sasha and Toni Sue. If they won’t let you, try to sit with Andrea Shaw. And