Calvin Streit, Oak Park, Illinois

One of the things I like about my current situation is that I have a good group of friends. Even though we're only all together at lunch, we manage to cram as much silliness and Yo Mama jokes into half an hour as possible. Everyone can be himself or herself and make jokes at each other's expense, but no hard feelings are taken. I truly believe I could count on them to back me up in an argument or when I've forgotten something at school.

	TIME Cover Story Being Thirteen What's on their minds? TIME takes an inside look at an age of mystery and challenge Thirteens on Thirteen Thirteen-year olds share their reflections Marissa Anderson Ariel DeNeve Jeffrey Dirkin Calvin Streit Haya Rios Jessica Gonzalez Duresny Nemorin Armaan Rowther Rose Buchberg Katherine Rack Joseph Charles Brandon Close Briana Katz

In school, life is crazy. I wait impatiently until 3:30 when I can escape the cold prison that is school. Math is definitely not my subject, but of course I have it at the end of the day. Time seems to move backward. Unfortunately, my favorite music instructor is leaving this year, so band won't be the same. All of my teachers are great and appreciate my humor and hard work. After school, I practice piano, sing in a chorus, and go to my church's after school program. Sometimes, on Friday nights, I attend PYC, which is a babysitting bonanza where I help sit for groups of up to 20 kids. I don't do it for the money; I do it because I like spending time with Lilliputians. For those of you who have seen Jurassic Park II: think about the scene where all the little dinosaurs jump on the guy when he falls down. It's kind of like that.

Recently I've taken a couple cooking classes at a local community center and I still haven't made anything. We prepared all kinds of food including donuts, quiches, and blintzes. They were delicious. My parents say I'm an adventurous eater, but I think that the stuff I eat is pretty ordinary. I eat calamari, tuna, pineapple pizza, and tomatoes. Lots of my friends would shy away from these, but I enjoy them. Some things that set me apart from the crowd are that I don't like a lot of rap, I listen to a load of oldies, I'm smart but well liked by most, I'm not artistic, I'm not great at sports, but I can do a little of both. Most of my experience lies in music. I play piano, sing in a choir, play trumpet, and ring bells at my church. I love football and ribs but at the same time I like quiet reading and listening to music from O Brother, Where Art Thou? I can hang with the cool crowd, or I can make sophisticated jokes with my less popular friends.