It has been really interesting reading through everyone's posts! I know sometimes I feel like I have a harder time remembering what it was like to be an eleven year old, which is why I usually start my charries in their fifth year or later . That being said, I do think there is a wide variety of characteristics and personality traits that you can give the first years and second years without making them sound unrealistic. I think the variety is great because when you look at kids that age in real life, there is such a vast range of difference in maturity levels. I happened to be one of those kids that matured quicker than most of the kids in my class, which I think I strongly attribute to the fact that I had started playing tennis competitively then, and being able to handle failures and pressure situations was just something I had to learn to do in order to do well on the tennis court. Not to say of course that if you didn't play a competitive sport at that age you couldn't be mature! Totally not what I am suggesting!

I babysit for a couple of families, and it is really interesting to see how different they all are. I mean some kids it feels like you are talking to an adult when they are only ten years old, and then other kids it makes you want to just go and build a tree house in the middle of the woods with them, since they still have that playful, childlike characteristic to them.

So…yeah…I don't think any portrayal is wrong per se, and I think that everyone has their own experiences and memories that help them shape their characters. I think that's what makes RPing so enjoyable