Diary of A "Curvy" Teen: A Scoliosis Novel

When I was first diagnosed with scoliosis, I didn't really know how to respond. I could cry my eyes out or run back into the waiting room. I could ask God why he'd given me scoliosis. I was already awkward and weird and totally not cool without throwing in a curvy spine. It was one of those things I just didn't understand--then or much now. I knew it was bad- via the lump that had developed in my throat and the sinking feeling in my stomach.

How weird it was to be diagnosed in the clinic I had come to since I was about 7 or 8 years old. I'd been through a lot there- blood drawings, chicken pox shots, vaccines, sore throats... And now something much more serious.

I'd always been a sick child. I'd had asthma since the age of 3, even though I'd never had an asthma attack back then. But every so often, it would bother me. All it took was a change in weather for it to kick into full swing. But still I always managed it and gotten over the range of colds I had. So when I got diagnosed with scoliosis, I sort of looked at it as something that would go away or could be handled.

The doctor who had told me I could have scoliosis said "I had it when I was a child. But it got better." When she said this, I'd convinced myself that it wasn't a big deal. It could be dealt with. So even as I walked beside my mother, who was majorly concerned with the discovery, a note to go to a specialist to confirm it tucked in her pocket, I didn't worry too much. There was hope. Even as she called my many aunts and uncles and confided to my sisters about my possible scoliosis, I didn't see scoliosis as an obstacle. But that would all change in the 7th grade. Scoliosis wasn't a normal obstacle- a few boxes stacked hazardly in my path- but the Great Wall of China

Seventh grade was the worst year of my life. To anyone who'd listen, I'd tell them this. The disformalty in my back had become more pronounced as my scoliosis got worse. My clothes no longer fit the same and I became more self conscious anytime I left the house. Two years later, I was still struggling to adjust to the changes that came with Scoliosis. Not to mention that I was now a freshman at a new school.

The first day of freshman year, I remember walking to my old school where my school bus would pick me up to take me to my new school. I wore bright purple skinny jeans and a matching tank top and cover shirt with white gym shoes. My favorite color added confidence to start off a new year.

 As I trudged up to my old school, I couldn't help feeling nervous. I had been at my old school from pre-K to 8th grade. I wasn't used to this. This was a different league too. These kids wore the best clothes, carried the latest designer purses in place of backpacks, and were downright mean. I was the complete opposite of them. They'd eat me alive.

I got there early so I had to wait a while. It was weird having left my old school, but having to wait there every morning. Another girl-heavier than me, slightly taller, with long braids-waited to be picked up too. I didn't know her much. I'd seen her in the halls of my old school once or twice, but we weren't in the same grade. She was a sophomore now.

When the bus pulled up, I clambered on, the butterflies soaring in my stomach. I stood in the center aisle for a while, looking around. It was silent. All the sophomores sat in the front seats of the bus, while the freshmen sat in the back. All of them looked at me and the other girl trying to see if they'd recognized us from orientation.

Apparently they recognized her,or the sophomores did, because they quickly made room for her to sit down. I took an empty seat as the freshmen went back to their talking and didn't look at me again.

I'd been at orientation 3 of the 4 days, so I was a bit taken aback that they hadn't recognized me. But looking around, I realized I hadn't seen any of these people at orientation either. Most of them seemed to know each other fairly well, so I assumed orientation wasn't the only connection for them. When we finally arrived to the school, I was the last to file off the bus.