Middle school was odd for me, as it was for everyone, I hear. I stayed up reeeally late most nights, hanging out in the Weezer chat room and learning about music that seemed to be way beyond my years. I was also diagnosed as clinically depressed, had a number of online relationships, and adopted a really awkward sense of humor--especially compared to my peers. I felt like a creep! But I'm fine with that, because overall this experience truly shaped me into who I am today.

Some highlights from seventh grade:
I remember drawing the cover of Blur's "The Best Of" the day 9/11 happened. And even when everyone was freaking out, I just kept drawing. At one point, I gave an "it's-good-to-be-yourself-speech" and totally started crying in front of the class. Friends would refer to me lovingly as "Weezer Freak" because I got really into them over this year (and no, not because of the Green Album!). I actually saw them for the first time, too, with Jimmy Eat World and Tenacious D. I started really caring about choir this year. I took a graphic design class my first semester and came to know one of the greatest art teachers ever, Mr. Hamilton. He made me realize my potential as an artist. I made a really good friend named Mike Winters, who remains a friend of mine to this day. Ironically, at first, I totally hated him.

Eighth grade:
Everyone called me "gothlic" because, on a whim, I went off and dyed my hair black. It really got under my skin. Nirvana re-exploded in popularity this year because of the release of their Greatest Hits album. I was pretty annoyed at all the kids acting like they knew about what I had known about since I was little, thanks to my parents. So I turned into somewhat of an elitist. I got into my first "serious" online relationship--and by serious, I only mean it lasted until my junior year of high school (far from perfect, though).