Analysis Of Zimmer In Grade School

Childhood Memories

Our childhood memories always remain with us. These memories can be either pleasant or distressing. For certain reason unpleasant childhood memories are easier to recall than the pleasant ones. In the poem “Zimmer in Grade School”, Paul Zimmer illustrates a boy’s failure in grade school that has left him with self-doubt and lack of confidence. The boy mentioned in the poem is none other than Paul Zimmer. As a child, Zimmer mentioned his insecurities and failures that lead him to be disobedient. I relate to “Zimmer in Grade School” because I remember having intimidating experiences and frights in grade school that left me with low self-esteem like Zimmer.

As a child, my grade school experience was not the finest. I completed my grade school in India. Like Zimmer, grade school was a harsh reality of my life. Zimmer in the poem states, “In grade school I wondered why I had been born to wrestle in the ashy puddles” (1-3). Twenty years ago, I clearly remember asking God, why I was born, and sent to school with a bunch of hostile children. Like

Similar to Zimmer, I used to hide, and sit all the way in the back. In spite of hiding, everyone knew who I was, a lonely girl who had failed herself and her parents. The girl who could have done well in grade school, if she was given a chance. Oh, how I wish this was a horrifying nightmare, however this is my reality. Bullying is a major problem in our society that occurs beyond grade school. Although due to bullying, my grade school and middle school experience was not positive, I truly learned something from it. I learned to face the problems instead of running away from them like a coward. Despite being an adult, I still face bullies at work in form of co-workers, patients, and managers. I’m taking little steps day by day to learn how to solve problems rather creating new