The This American Life podcast titled “Middle School” outlines and elaborates on the hardships of day to day middle school. Introducing itself with an interview between the 14 year old girl who proposed a show on middle school and the interviewer, the episode unfolds itself into the lives of scrawny, awkward middle school boys and girls. The sweet, giddy interviewee innocently discusses the idea that “No matter who you are or what you do you get made fun of for it” in middle school. Segments on school dances “stutter step” and a new seventh grader the “blue kid on the block” investigate the hardships, quirks, and transitions of middle school. “Stutter step” brings back memories of nerves and excitement before the ever pressing middle school dances; where kids evolve from the sixth graders-- swaying or sitting in the safe light of the cafeteria-- to the eight graders-- trying to sneak past the eyes of their teacher chaperones in the dark shadowy back where they dance with the superiority they have earned from three years of middle school. “Blue Kid on the Block” highlights more of the drama and anxiety associated with junior high school. Luckily, by the end of the prologue, the interviewee has concluded that middle school has its benefits; “Whatever middle school was it worked. Everyone’s a lot friendlier now.” Middle school brings out judgment and timidity in self-searching preteens that is nerve-racking and even sickening in Ian’s case from “Blue kid” and presents experiences such as dances that may seem overwhelming at the time, but overall shape a better adolescent in the long run.
The school dance segment explores anxious boys, enthusiastic girls, experienced upperclassmen, unsure underclassmen, and their actions, stories, and feelings towards the middle school dances. “Stutter step” first covers the nervous bunch. The boys face their first dance, dressed by their moms, hesitant to break out their moves, anticipating something that’s supposed to be fun, but for now is just pretty nerve racking. One boy says he’s not ready for the slow dance but wants to know how, an example of how middle school is the learning stage of life. If it weren’t for middle school, people would be awkwardly presenting themselves to dance with a girl for the very first time at their senior Prom. They are afraid of what everyone else will think of them, afraid they might be the talk of the town for a while; “I’m hoping nothing bad happens or anything that will be a story for the next few months” says one boy. The older kids know what they’re doing now and they shy away from teachers to break out their best dance moves, while the younger ones sit down during slow songs to avoid standing alone or latch onto their friends back, forming a train to include themselves in the action. The relationships in middle school, both romantic and friendly, are less serious, boyfriends last a week, best friends three months. Everyone is looking to define themselves. So when the new kid walks in, such as in “Blue kid on the block”, not everyone wants to reach out and he is too timid to step up. Leo needs to find himself a place in his new school, but being in a middle school stage is struggling. He says he is in the longest sad period he has ever been in his life, although it’s close to how he felt when his cat died. Middle school is overwhelming. It is bigger and louder. Making friends is harder. One reason he gives is “the older you get the more you judge people”. As an elementary school kid, everyone bases their friendships on personality, not appearance and popularity and background. So kids, knowing they are being judged tend to be more tentative and nervous. Which also makes them more judgmental. What goes around comes around, they say. And everything has gone around enough to make a giant complicated stressful web some people like to call middle school. Leo goes to school, without finding a friend for months, and he literally gets sick over it. Finally he finds one friend, but he still doesn’t feel like he belongs.
Both the “Stutter Step” and “Blue Kid” provide insight on middle school. “Stutter Step” portrays both the ups and downs, tugging on fond old memories of one’s own middle school awkwardness that can now be smiled back on. It really highlights the uneasiness and transitions of junior high with a lighter and fun tone, playfully condescending to young middle schoolers who have no idea how to handle themselves at a dance, or think they are already in a serious-- yet 20 minute old-- relationship. “Blue Kid on the Block” is more melancholy. Hopefully Leo begins to fit in, but for now he is a loner. “Blue Kid” depicts the tougher aspects of not fitting in at a time when fitting in means everything. It is more depressing and pulls more on the feelings of compassion and sorrow. It doesn’t really even have a happy ending. Sure he made a friend but he still does not belong. Maybe it won’t be until high school that Leo can find his place, but once he has gotten there, he will appreciate the journey it took to find true serenity and comfortability. Lucky for most people, high school will roll around soon enough where there are groups for every type of person and the judgment seems to melt away and everyone is able to let their lights shine through.
Juli Cady Ryan's work represents more than just a painting or even an idea, but reveals an 11 by 13 slice of what goes on inside her brain. Her paintings whisper the secret ideas, churning in tune with imagination, in her mind; secrets that are gently and skillfully extracted from inside her head and are imprinted with acrylics to transform a bare white canvass. And it is done uniquely. A still life, but moving and bending; a realistic picture but tainted with bulls-eyed dots and swirling branches. The jubilant trees and houses melt to point towards the subject of the photo, guiding the eyes to the most simple, but possibly most important part of the photo. If the trees aren't pointing to the subject in a yoga like bend, they are framing and augmenting the piece's value. The pieces dive towards different centers, whirl pooling in the air or blowing in the wind. Circles upon circles litter the floor, making the picture seem more imaginative and dreamlike. The intricate dots give the paintings life and an energy that intrigues the viewer more than an ordinary hill with a tree would. Curls and swirls and squigglies cause the heart to flutter and the soul to float in curiosity. Maybe the paintings instill pangs of jealousy with their completely unique and abstract-within-concrete style. Maybe the paintings inspire individuality, and encourage seeking out difference to create beauty. Like Monet's Starry Night, Juli's paintings in their simple busyness with their carefree but deliberate brushstrokes create a bubbly and airy feeling. Ryan's artwork, distinct in style and whimsical in ideas, instills a childlike gayness and a twirling bliss in the eyes of all who see it. 
Juli Cady Ryan paints simple but busy paintings complete with circles and swirls and curves. Her paintings are unique but almost have a Dr.Seuss essence about them. They lean and swirl and have your eyes following their every line and curl. Some tell a story. a Twisting ladder leaning up to the moon, encouraging the chasing of dreams. Another depicts serenity and peace and beauty with fairies dancing in the moonlight.
