'Middle school' is used as shorthand for a time when things change. It's a time a lot of kids feel like they don't even have one good friend.

My mom and I have always been really close. She's always been the friend that was always there. There were times when, in middle school and junior high, I didn't have a lot of friends. But my mom was always my friend. Always.

My high school experience was pretty good, but my middle school experience was god awful. It was horrible. I got picked on like no tomorrow.

In middle school, I had an '87 Regal. That was unheard of.

I grew up an only child, and I always felt as if I didn't fit in. In middle school, in grammar school, and even high school, I just didn't feel like I fit in.

Nothing could be as hard as middle school.