How we cite our quotes: (Paragraph)
Quote #7
This is when I wish I wasn't eleven, because all the years inside of me – ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, and one – are pushing at the back of my eyes when I put one arm through one sleeve of the sweater that smells like cottage cheese, […]. (18)
Rachel wishes she wasn't eleven, but this passage seems to suggest that being older wouldn't really help her here. After all, older simply means she'd have more years pushing to get out and away from the cottage cheese smell.
Quote #8
I wish I was invisible but I'm not. I'm eleven and it's my birthday today and I'm crying like I'm three in front of everybody. (14)
Earlier, it was mentioned that when her mother cries, Rachel comforts her by saying it was only the three-year-old side coming out. From this, we can tell that Rachel doesn't necessary think it's a bad thing to occasionally be three. So what's different here? Whereas Rachel's mother cried at home, Rachel is crying at school. This might suggest that coming-of-age is more about social acceptance than truly changing who you are.
Quote #9
I wish I was anything but eleven, because I want today to be far away already, far away like a runaway balloon, like a tiny o in the sky, so tiny-tiny you have to close your eyes to see it. (22)
By the story's end, Rachel pines for adulthood so childhood will be further away. At one hundred and two, the embarrassing moments of her eleventh birthday will be just a memory, like a balloon lost to the sky. This may be true, but as we've already seen, eleven-year-old Rachel will always be a part of Rachel. Even if she has to close her eyes to see it, it'll still be there.