New Day, New School And New Life

To many freshman the first day of high school is the opening chapter of a new novel, a fresh start to a sometimes embarrassing middle school experience we would all just love to erase from our memories. August 13th, 2012 was the beginning of my four year long narrative at Cypress Bay High School. Despite my desperate desire to grow up, become an adult, and move far away from my parents for college all that did not seem possible because I had never previously attended a public school. I was struck with fear that I would not be able to adjust to the fast pace dynamics of a large high school.

Until recently well this Sunday the 15th of May, when the high schoolers really did come to play baseball with us in our Babe Ruth league. This is the moment that I transitioned into wanting to go to high school. I knew two of the high schoolers already; Sean & Dylan, as they’ve played baseball with me before, but I didn't know Lance, Maxx, and John. Lance seemed like one of the high schoolers I envisioned, mean, grouchy… the way you see prisoners… After I got to talk to him I realized he was the same way as was used to, nice, funny, and hyper. John is that super tall guy that we're all scared of, yet again I was wrong, he turned out to be one of the nicest people i've ever met. Maxx was the last person I got a chance to talk to, he seemed shy but he was almost exactly like me, he was nice, funny, lively, clumsy… all of the above. They we're the opposite of what I imagine high school to be like. Nothing negative has come from meeting the new people so far, and we can all affect each other in a positive way. After that Sunday double header I’ve wanted to go to high school and forget middle school. It would be a moment to make new friends and think about what i'm going to do in the

It was the year 2008, I had just graduated from St. Michael’s School located in Los Angeles, CA. This year was quite exhilarating for me also scary because I was going to attend an all-girls high school. Los Angeles was my birth place also a place where I called home. One day, I came home to hearing my parents talking about moving to Mississippi. I remained devastated, not only we were moving to the south, I’m moving away from childhood friends. I was worried I wouldn’t see them again and I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to make new friends in Mississippi.

On August 13th, 2016 my family and I started a new life. We were forced to relocate from Southern California to Prosper, Texas for my dad’s job. When I moved I knew absolutely no one. It was extremely hard to move away from my people that I have been friends with for almost my whole life. It was even harder to say goodbye to my grandma and my brothers. Finding new friends and adjusting to a new city in a new state was very difficult. On the first day of school, I was extremely nervous, because I didn’t know anyone.

Walking into school on my first day of high school, I felt out of place. My face covered in acne, my teeth covered in braces, and the callicks in my hair stuck up through the abnormally thick layer of hair gel that coated them. My middle school social anxiety still ruled over me as I could barely speak with any member of the opposite sex. Yet, I still had an odd confidence about me. I had always been one of the best students in my class, even without ever studying for a test. I viewed high school as a slight uptick from the curriculum I had easily passed in middle school. I was wrong. High school exists as a microcosm of society, in which I originally failed to acclimate myself to the challenges posed to me in a setting of increased

“Do you have everything ready to go for today?” My Mom asked in a worried tone. I simply replied with a quick yes so I scarf down the rest of my breakfast and run back to my room and get dressed as fast as I could. We had to leave a bit earlier than expected so we could pick up my best

The new environment was a well-needed change, and we quickly began school that August. Everything for once was manageable and running smoothly. Then, I blinked, and when I opened my eyes, high school was over, and I was facing an ultimatum presented to me by my mother; either I go to college, or I move out and figure my own life out. I resentfully chose the first option.

Let’s jump ahead again, this time to my first day of school. Morris Knolls High School is one of the top high schools in the US. Their curriculum is rigorous and their standards are sky high. Also, this was a completely new environment for me. I didn’t know how high school worked and this wasn’t the type of town I was used to. Living in suburbia and attending a school with different demographics than I was used to scared me. I now lived 30 minutes away from everything I grew up around. But the thought of having a fresh start excited me. No one knew me, I was a nobody and therefore free to completely change myself.

After waiting eight extensive years in elementary school and middle school, I was finally going to go to a new high school. I felt extremely scared, it felt as if I actually had butterflies in my stomach. I was excited to go to the large new building but it almost looked too big.

I know that it doesn’t appear to be such a big deal, but just the thought of having to start fresh in the middle of high school had been enough to send shivers down my spine. I wasn’t sure that I was ready to be a Rockingham County High School Cougar. I walked in on the first day, on the outside looking collected, but on the inside I was shaking like a loose leaf being tossed around on a branch in the middle of autumn. “What if I don’t meet anyone? What

“Ahh...Middle School. So I guess the phrase “they grow up so fast” seems true. I can finally start acting like a mature young adult so to say. But there’s one problem: I have no idea what I’m supposed to do. The night before I just came back from Florida thinking that it would be a piece of cake. BUT I WAS WRONG. Here’s how it went down or at least how I think it went down. One warm crispy September morning I woke up ready to enjoy another day of summer vacation when I realized middle school was starting. I started to panic thinking to myself, “I missed orientation so I have no idea what to do. What will everyone think of me. What if I can’t open my locker?” I get nervous on the first day of school and I broke out in a cold sweat. I was so

January 2015, there was a girl who was living in a home filled with fighting causing the tension in the air to be so thick you could cut it with a knife. Being the ripe old age of 15, and being a pastor’s kid, this girl, having only ever known parents who lived together and experienced a seemingly happy life, quickly had to adjust to a life the exact opposite. This girl had to learn to live with her parents at two different addresses, her dad changing professions, not seeing her brother all the time, and hours upon hours of counseling. Within the past year or two, I have had to grow tremendously as a person. As a teenager, we are supposed to be confused with who we are and high school is the time that we are supposed to start finding ourselves,

High school sucks. New school, new friends and it just happens to be two months into the year. How am I going to survive? It is your typical high school. The typical ‘mean girls', your typical ‘jocks' and your typical ‘nerd'. Where am I meant to fit in? I want to be in a group but I hate mean girls, I'm not very athletic and not very smart. That might mean I have to be friends with the nerds. Who would want to friends with the nerds? The first class of the day and I've made two new friends. They're the best. I was so confused where I had health and they helped me there and it was the worst lesson in my life. Lets hope this year goes fast. Lunch. How can explain this? It was strange. I was walking to my new friends and this really strange guy

I live in a small town called Ocean City, New Jersey. To me, living here was nothing special. Ironically, anytime I say that is where I’m from I hear, “Wait, you live in Ocean City?! That is my favorite place in the world. We go there every summer!” How can a place be a bother to someone and an amazing get away to another? I went to Ocean City High School, where I could walk five feet to the beach. Who could hate that? I sure could. I begged my parents to let me transfer my first two years. I went to a Catholic school from kindergarten through 8th grade while everyone else at my school attended the public middle schools in the area, which meant that everyone was already friends and I had to make new ones. This was my first time ever in public schooling, and I felt like a lost fish in the sea. Obviously things got better and I ended up making some of the best friendships that I know will last a lifetime, but I still can’t deny that I thought I could say June 18th, 2015, graduation, was going to be the best day of my life. Then things changed. This summer I worked on the beach and was never done later than 12:00, so I went every single day after I clocked out. To say I gained an appreciation for where I live would be an understatement. There is nothing more relaxing than hearing the crashes of the big blue waves slowly putting me to sleep as I lay in the warm sun. I was slowly beginning to realize why everyone loves this place so much. Excitement for heading off to college

When we moved to San Angelo, I was just about to start the 8th grade. That year has got to be the worst year of my life. I was nervous for my first day. I remember my mom walking me to my bus stop and introducing me to the other kids that were already there. Looking back on that today, that was extremely embarrassing. After my mom left, I didn’t talk to the other kids, they didn’t talk to me either. When I got on the bus, I sat alone. After we got to school, all the students had to meet in the middle of the school courtyard. All I remember seeing is that all the students hugging all their friends saying how much they missed one another over the summer. I recall wanting to cry because I didn’t have anyone. I stood by