Seventh Grade by Gary Soto is a short story about a boy named Victor on his first day of seventh grade. Based on Gary Soto’s experiences growing up as a Mexican American, the story gives us a recount that reflects his memories. On the first day of seventh grade, Victor picks up his packets and computer, then walks inside the school building to talk to his friend Michael, who has picked up scowling as his normal face over the summer. During homeroom, Victor finds out that he is in the same homeroom as his crush, Teresa. Throughout the day, he has several missed chances to talk to her, and embarrasses himself several times because he is too occupied in his “Teresa” world. By the end of the story, Gary Soto has taught readers many valuable lessons of staying true to yourself, young love, and experience.
Young love is something that everyone will go through throughout their adolescence. It’s universal in the crushes, puppy love and romance that sprout in middle school, burdening the young adolescents. In Seventh Grade, Victor experiences young love with his crush on Teresa. In his eyes, Teresa is the center of everything, and he is sometimes blindsided by it. He doesn't notice what is going on outside of his fantasy world, and has several close encounters with the fantasy world becoming his reality and taking over with reality still around him. During young love, it is important to remember to never forget about reality, because it will always be there waiting for you. Don’t be caught up in your little dream world of romance and forget what you are supposed to be doing, for that is what happened to Victor and it didn’t do him any good. He only got embarrassed while in class, and then missed chances to talk to Teresa because of it. Reality is something that will always prevail. Love is only in it, not something to take over it.’
Sometimes, just having the experience is what you need. Some things, like math and science, can be taught from a textbook or a website. But others, like life experiences, can only be something that you go through yourself. Mr. Bueller, the French teacher, is a great example of this. When Victor and Teresa are conversing after French class, Teresa asks Victor to tutor her thinking that Victor knows French, and Mr. Bueller listens in. Though he knows that Victor does not actually speak French, he doesn’t say anything and lets Victor answer. It is later revealed that during college, Mr. Bueller also dated a girl that he worked hard to impress, but then got himself broke in doing so. He realizes that this might be something Victor just needs to go through in order to gain knowledge from, so he steps back and allows Victor to deceive Teresa into believing that he is educated in French enough to be tutoring her. Mr. Bueller, as someone who has already gone through it, knows that the experience might be beneficial for Victor. Hence the quote, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” Apart from time, having experience might just be the most valuable thing in life.
Always remember, no matter what, stay true to yourself, because you will never become someone else. Don’t try to fit yourself inside a box of someone else. Many people say that you are unique, and that’s for a reason. Based on facts, of course, because you are unique and shouldn’t try to change yourself for someone else. In Seventh Grade, Victor tries to change himself in order to get the attention of Teresa. After homeroom, he stays behind to talk to Teresa, but is too nervous and ends up saying something stupid instead of clever. In French class, he pretends like he knows how to speak French, even though he doesn’t. All of this was done in hopes of impressing Teresa, yet some of it may have had the opposite effect. In the process of showing off in front of Teresa, Victor also tried to change himself to fit what he believed was someone that was cool and eye-catching. However, this was a grave mistake. You can never be someone else as good as you are yourself. Victor tried his best to be someone that would be worthy of his beloved Teresa, but as he was that guy on a daily basis and wasn’t that guy on the inside, Victor only ended up causing himself to be embarrassed in multiple situations. Be yourself, because that’s who you are. And nobody will really know you unless you show them your true self, not your facade.
Seventh Grade by Gary Soto is a really informative short story that teaches readers many important lessons that will prove to be valuable later on in life. The story of Victor’s first day of school shares many themes with us. Through Victor’s crush on Teresa, we learn about the unavoidable challenges of adolescence, and the dangers of young love. With Mr. Bueller’s memory and choices at the end of the story, we also discover the powerful impact of having experience on something, and how not everything has to be taught through a textbook. Lastly, we also become aware of the importance of being true to yourself through Victor’s futile attempts at catching Teresa’s attention. Seventh Grade really is a captivating short story, one worthy to be read.
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