I loved computer class. It was something I looked forward to every single week. I would go to Ms. Schumer's computer room down the hallway. Her gentle smile and warm personality made me feel comfortable and excited to be there. My love for computers equally matched the love I had for being in Ms. Schumer's class.
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I was such a good typer, far better and faster than most of the kids in my class. My obsession started once my dad got rid of his old laptop. The only thing my dad would let me use was Microsoft Word.
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What could I possibly use that for?
But, I ended up becoming obsessed with it. I thought it was the coolest thing ever. They way it looked, the noise the keyboard sounded when your fingers would hit them, and the way the letters on the keyboard magically appeared onto the blank white page on the computer. It was so mesmerizing. I taught myself to type, slowly but surely, until I could type:
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"The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog."
I became a pro, and started running out of things to type that I would pick up books from my room and type word for word different pages from the book onto the Microsoft document. Pathetic, I know.
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Every day at the end of class, Ms. Schumer would make us do an online typing test that tested us for accuracy and speed. It would give us a score at the end of the test, and we had to record our score and give it to Ms. Schumer. At the end of each month, Ms. Schumer would average out each student's scored from each week of the month, and find out who had the highest score each month. Not to brag or anything, but it was always me. I won Every. Single. Month. The winner would get a golden star that read:
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"This month's lucky star typer is _____"
I had a collection of all the golden stars I have collected throughout the year, and I would hang them up in my room.
The winner of the month would get to pick the game the class played if there was ever any free time during class. Since I was always the winner, I always picked this one game with aliens and you had to type the letters come down from space before the words hit the bottom of the screen. Your job was to save the world and make sure there was no alien attack.
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One day, we were taught "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog". I jumped up out of my seat with excitement, as I knew exactly what it was and I know I could accomplish typing that with no problem. I could see the confused looks on all my classmates' faces, and it was gave me a sense of joy and accomplishment that I already knew what to do. My confidence was skyrocketed, and I felt like I could take on the world.
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So far, I had 4 yellow stars in my room. One for October, one for November, one for December, and one for January. We we were about halfway through February, and I could not wait until it was the end of the month so that I could receive my 5th star. That's how confident I was that I was the best typer in the class.
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Something so horrible happened to me. I got the flu. Most kids when they get sick are excited they get to skip school. Not me.
I need to get better by Thursday so I can go to computers. What if I miss computer class, then I won’t get the star for the month? Then that means I won’t be able to pick the game for that month. AND that means I officially won’t be the best typer in the class. Oh my god.
This is NOT what your average child would think when they get sick. Even my mom thought I was going crazy.
As soon as I felt sick, I knew I had about 2 days to recover so I could go into school for computer class. I did everything I was told to do. I went to bed early, I rested all day, I drank lots of water and Gatorade, and I tried eating even though my stomach didn’t want any food. “Do it for that gold star”, I would tell myself in my head. I progressively got worse. Instead, I took my laptop, rested in bed, and practiced typing over and over again. I typed so much my fingers started to hurt.
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A week went by of complete frustration, devastation, and an immense amount of typing. I was finally able to go back to school, and oddly enough, my first day back at school was a day of computer class. I was anxious to see who would get the golden star for the month, or if there was still a slight hope of me getting it.
Maybe some people weren’t very good while I was gone, or maybe some people were sick and absent like me.
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The faces of determination and concentration, the sound of keys clicking, and for me, the feelings of anxiety filled the room. We had a typing assignment that Ms. Schumer told us to complete while she averaged the scores for the month. Suddenly and abruptly, we were interrupted.
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“Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to present to you this month’s star typer. The winner goes to… Bella! Congrats Bella!”.
Applause filled the room, but I couldn’t hear anything. My heart was at the bottom of my stomach, and it was even worse because I could feel the stares from my classmates. This was so humiliating.
I have been so used to being the best typer in the class, and getting the star every month. I wasn't used to this feeling. The feeling of humiliation, disappointment, worthlessness. I really thought the world was going to end, and that school from this point forward would never be the same.
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Was I being silly?
I went home that day and was so upset. I vented to my mom, and she tried calming me down. She told me it was all going to be okay, and that I was still a great typer.
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"It's only motivation to make you an even better and even faster typer. Keep working at it and you'll forget this even happened. The next month is all you."
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She was right.
I tried forgetting that horrible day, and listened to my mom. I realized that one computer class won't mean anything to me in a few years, and that one golden star did not define who I was. I kept working hard, regardless of receiving more golden stars. I eventually grew into the determined, driven, and self-sufficient learner and typer that I am today.
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This computer class really helped morph me into the person I am today. Digital literacy became such an important part of my life, and using technology like computers helped me strengthen my literacy. I learned to type words, and because I used to type from books, I became familiar with a larger vocabulary. My word knowledge grew, and I was able to talk more maturely for my age. I strongly believe it all stems back to being able to type proficiently and familiarizing myself with larger, more sophisticated words. Reading and writing soon became my strong subjects at the end of elementary school. I started getting amazing grades, and there as a drive and motivation in me that was never there before. Not to mention, "computer class was a good switch up from the daily activities of staying in class and going over assignments. It was something different." I truly believe this computer class has helped me grow into the student and person I am today.
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