Being A Boy

This one brings back some good memories.  The first time I remember "being a boy" was in junior high.  My first year of junior high school was a nightmare. Our school was 6th-8th grade, so the difference in age wasn't to bad.  It was the first day that we dressed for P.E. Our class was a mixture of all the grades. Everyone knew who the 8th graders were, and everyone knew who the 6th graders were. I never got it, but it was almost like the 7th graders didn't exist sometimes.  Especially in that locker room. I had P.E first hour and never looked forward to it. On the first day we got our locks and workout clothes that we were provided to wear everyday of class. We went through the rules and goals for the semester. It was mainly pretty boring, but the one thing that I remember was this,  "You guys have first hour, make sure to shower. It's not a big deal you are all boys here" said Mr. Cunningham, my P.E teacher. I was mind blown. All I could do was look into the locker room shower. It looked like a dark cave. One of those creepy, scary ones you see in the movies. The walls were painted white and there were 6 different shower heads.  3 on each side. Lets just say the last thing on my mind was playing a game of kickball.  

 As the class period ended, I kept repeating what my teacher had said in his remarkable speech, "We are all boys, it's okay."  I knew that I wasn't the only one that was nervous, so I asked some of my fellow 6th graders if they planned on showering. Most of them said no, which was what I wanted to hear.  But, I think I failed to mention that I hit three inside the park home runs in the kickball game and did not smell the best. So, I decided that I was going to shower. My dad had prepared me for this He had mentioned that this is what it would be like being in a locker room.  So I felt like I was ready.  

It ended up not being too bad.  A few other kids showered and nobody made any weird eye contact.  I was shocked. It ended up being a good first day of junior high. I felt like this marked the first time I was "being a boy" because it was just the norm.  Things have changed around the world when it comes to gender identification. One thing that hasn't changed much is the community that makes up a locker room.  For the most part there is a men's locker room and a women's locker room. Especially in college athletics. From 6th grade to now, the locker rooms that I have seen haven't changed one bit.  I guess I'm just "being a boy"