53 Comments on “Athena Totally Punches the Eighth Grade in the Face”

1. Nice form! I wish I looked that together in 8th grade. Good on you, Athena!

2. Ah the eight grade. Is this the beginning of HS for eighth graders in Ohio? Very scary and exciting, especially when different middle schools meld together from across the city. So many new people to get to know, get to know to avoid.

3. Farley:

   It’s still middle school here. Also, we live in a very small town, so the school building houses all the kids, kindergarten through 12th grade. She knows everyone in her school, and everyone knows her.

4. Give that girl a bow and arrows.

5. My daughter started high school today. She’s been gone for 90 minutes and no phone call. I’m hoping that’s a good sign.

6. Mary Anne Mohanraj:

   She already has them! And isn’t a bad shot.

7. I’m so glad you have a such a confident and well-adjusted daughter. Middle school was a horror show for me. May Athena’s experience be all it’s supposed to be.

8. Nice pic! Kick some eighth grade butt Athena!

9. Ah well what do you expect from Athena, the Greek Goddess of Wisdom, reason inteleect and literature. She would want to go out in the sun and show the rest of the Goddeses that she wasn’t a total Geek/ Nerd, haha. . She’ll grow up running rings around Diana, Hippolyta and even Hera. Heeeeyahhhh!

10. Intellect. Ooops, Typo!

11. What a interesting pair of pictures – Athena reflecting on the end of summer, then Athena demonstrating her mastery of the upcoming school year!

    I also wanted to mention (as you, no doubt, are already aware) what an absolutely beautiful young lady she is. She looks more like Krissy every year.

12. I remember 8th grade. It was a very good year.

13. Their eighth grade school is no match for Athena’s Kung-Fu style!

14. Do some damage? Surely, you mean fight for the downtrodden and oppressed. For her cause is righteous and her kung fu is strong.

15. I am totally hearing the “Kill Bill” soundtrack in my head when I look at this picture. The eighth grade should be scared.

16. She starts school on August 13th? Why do I remember summer being so much longer when I was a kid?

17. I covet the headband. Good taste!

18. Love the headband, it looks like a laurel wreath. You’ve managed to raise a nerd with fashion sense? GREAT GOOGLY-MOOGLY! The world is not ready for the ferocity this girl has to offer.

    Hope the first day went well!

19. That headband belongs on a young lady named Athena.

20. I went to college with a girl from a small town. They had a class reunion in one of her classmates backyards. I remember her telling me that people didn’t want to date when they were young, because they would run out of people to date by the time they got to high school. For some reason that stuck with me.

    She must be the most famous little girl in the school since her dad is a celebrity in a small town.

21. Guess:

    I’m not actually a celebrity in Bradford; the folks in town know me better as Athena’s dad than for anything else. Athena’s notability at school, such as it is, comes almost entirely from her being her.

22. From what you’ve posted about her, I think being Athena’s dad might qualify you as a celebrity. She seems like the kind of kid I would want in one of my classes. Best wishes for the new school year.

23. Looking back, I think I would have rather punched 9th grade. 8th grade was much kinder.

24. Aww, others beat me to the “laurel wreath headband” comment! It does seem early for kids to go back to school, but my niece in CT starts this week too; gone are the days where we started after Labor Day. I wish Athena and her classmates a joyful year of learning!

25. Good luck, Athena. Knock ’em out.

26. Go get ’em. You look ready.

27. I, too, love the headband. Have a great year, Athena! You look awesome for your first day. :)

28. Love the headband. I want one!

29. School starts in mid-August there? What kind of hideous kid-hating regime do you live under? :-) School usually starts on the Tuesday after Labour Day her in Canuckistan.

30. well, 8th grade beat the heck out of me so I hope Athena will power through with all the grace and confidence these photos show in her

31. Add me to the list of people complimenting her stylish headband! Hope Athena has a great year at school!

    Now where can I get that headband? *g*

32. Does Athena have a pet owl? Or at least an awesome owl T-Shirt?

33. I’m not actually a celebrity in Bradford; the folks in town know me better as Athena’s dad than for anything else.

    John Scalzi’s secret identity is John Scalzi. That’s probably for the best; just try finding a phone booth these days.

34. It does my heart good to see future black belts sprouting among clan Scalzi :)

    @ Nina

    Ah well what do you expect from Athena, the Greek Goddess of Wisdom, reason inteleect and literature.

    Don’t forget just warfare.

    Intellect. Ooops, Typo!

    At least your typo had a sense of humor :P

    @ Kay

    You’ve managed to raise a nerd with fashion sense?

    Having seen how John dresses in his photos, I’m gonna guess her mother taught her style. Still, props to the photographer (presumably John) for the excellent mise en scène.

35. Wow, the kids start school early where you are. Up here in Toronto its usually the week following Labour Day!

36. I love the laurel-leaf headband! ^_^ TO the victor go the spoils!!

37. What kind of unfairness is that, that they make them go back to school in the middle of the summer still. In nyc first day is sept 7th (around there), but school doesn’t end until June 30th. So I’m assuming her school yr ends early.

38. Is this a early start of school?

39. Chiming in from FL here, and my son started today as well. We can’t fund our schools worth a damn here, but we’ll sure get them back into classes ASAP so as to better prepare them for a year of standardized testing.

40. Athena kicks ass? Does that make her Hit Girl?

41. I love the girls of today. I have a 7th grader, and she is so confident! They don’t have to live under those archaic “be sweet and ladylike” rules that so many of us grew up with. Rock on, Athena – but keep an eye out for my kid!

42. That’s great, John. To have the same friends from K-12. That would be interesting indeed.

43. I’m glad you mean the Eighth Grade as a concept, not the actual MEMBERS of the Eighth Grade. If she starts punching THEM in the face that will not be a good thing…or, fortunately, anything like Athena.

44. “Also, we live in a very small town, so the school building houses all the kids, kindergarten through 12th grade. She knows everyone in her school, and everyone knows her.”

    I grew up going to such a school. When I describe to some people that my graduating class was only 27 people, they react as if I was a two-headed alien from Alpha Centauri.

    (sad that spellcheck doesn’t recognize Centauri as a word)

45. I like her shirt.

    My kid is switching from a very small school that started in late August to a very big school that doesn’t start until early September and is facing a possible teachers strike and so may start later. She’s a bit nervous. I will show her Athena’s picture. :)

46. She’s looking good – may she have a good year.

    Also like her picture in the banner.

47. Not a bad fist – needs to be a little tighter, but that will come. Give ’em hell, Athena!

    On a related note, unlike what seems like everyone else on the list, your school starts later than ours. My kids have been back in school for a week already.

48. I’ve been doing a lot of geneology research lately, with a lot of old family pictures. I was struck by how my two nieces look identical to my two sisters (respective mothers, one each) when they were young. Perhaps thats the reason why when this picture of Athena came up I thought, “That looks just like Krissy!” I’ll bet if you take a picture of Krissy at that age, and Athena now, put them side by side, they could probably pass for twins.

49. That is a really nice portrait of your daughter. I hope her first day’s face was thoroughly punched.

    I showed this entry to my younger cousin, who is starting eighth grade is Massachusetts in a couple of weeks. He’s very nervous, because he is in a new school district and doesn’t know anyone (besides the twins that live next door, but as they are taking French and he is taking Spanish, he’ll be in a different set of classrooms). I was hoping that he’d laugh at the title of the blog post. Instead, he asked me to take a photo of him in the same pose, which he then printed off the computer and hung on his bedroom closet. He claims it’s making him feel more confident that he’ll kick butt in class and make a lot of friends.

    So yeah, long-winded way of saying thanks to Athena for agreeing to have the photo posted and you for coming up with a blog entry that is helping a 13-year-old stranger face his first day of school fears.

50. Gary:

    “I’ll bet if you take a picture of Krissy at that age, and Athena now, put them side by side, they could probably pass for twins.”

    Actually, no. Krissy looked quite a bit different at that age, from what I see in the pictures we have of her at that age. Athena’s typically looked more like me growing up (although in girl form), although lately more of her mom is coming through. I quite obviously do not see this as a bad thing.

51. Seven at one blow!

52. Gawd, Ohio is cruel! (says the Michigander)
    Starting school in mid-August?

53. Good for her! I can say without shame that 8th grade most definitely punched ME in the (metaphorical) face.