Personal Narrative: Being The New Kid

First impressions always matter when attending a new school. New schools are also a new start; as a result, it is always hard to try to see if you naturally fit in. Trying to fit in may be difficult may be hard for some kid, but fitting in never truly matters as long as you have the right friends. If you just stay unique instead of being worried about fitting in then you will fit in your own way.

While big events can make major changes, little events define how we become as adults. My earliest memories is at a five year-old. It is one spot where I have been to, in my thoughts, more than any other has. In this memory, it was evening, as I stood on a dirt path. It was an unpaved driveway for the church parsonage.

I came to Ridge Family Center for Learning in second grade. On top of being “the new kid” in school, I didn’t know anyone besides my neighbor. She had been going to this school since kindergarten and I ate lunch with her and her friends everyday. One day, as I ate my usual PB & J, she said “Are you excited for the musical?” Apparently it happens every year, yet I was not aware of this. Naturally, being a little kid, I was excited and screamed “Really? I love watching people perform!” My parents loved musicals and took me to see my fair share of them. She gave me a strange look and laughed. “You don’t get to watch. We’re performing on the stage, silly!” My jaw dropped. All I could think about was how scared I was. I was about to sing on stage in front of 200 parents.

Many underestimate the power that a singular event possesses and the extent at which it can alter one’s mindset. Often times a shift in the method of thinking and processing information, the act which drives our entire being, signifies a “coming of age”. Reaching a pivotal moment in time where not only do those around you recognize the transformation, but you also fully embrace the alteration. In layman's terms, transitioning out of childhood conjures thoughts and ideas that evolve from the foundation of one’s life. For me, the potent mixture of a short-lived period of blissful innocence and a pressurized home environment led to the culmination of a desire to succeed.

Maybe I was too little, or maybe I was too short, but either way I did not make the jump. In the second grade I was your average eight year old, who always wore her hair in ponytails, and enjoyed playing tag at recess. One day I saw the fifth graders on the monkey bars at recess doing something I had never seen before, they were jumping to the fourth bar. I waited untill Kids Inc. that day to try the jump, but it was no use I was acting like a scared baby.

She was in her room. Alone on a windy day the smoke she was creating was circulating all over the house. The smoke was transparent and smelled of Cannabis Sativa. She didn’t want to be bothered. All was quiet the only thing she could hear was the sound of her own heartbeat. Then she began to feel weird. She felt something in her stomach. Was it remorse? Maybe it was happiness. Or maybe it was even the feeling of accomplishment. But right after the feeling, her mother comes barreling into the room.

Walking into the coffee shop where everyone else , including me now, confronts people in their lives and continues to discuss important topics. The decorations around me are plain and simplistic, nothing special about this place whatsoever. I wait patiently for my invite to show, mentally preparing myself for the conversation that I want to have so desperately. I think of the topics I want to bring up and the ones I want to focus on more than others. Nervously, I continue to wait and talk myself out of thinking that they wouldn’t show at all. A few minutes filled with deep breaths later, finally they’re here. I walk over to the table we agreed to meet at, and sat politely before greeting them and waiting for a response. I cleared my throat and looked at my lap, trying to refrain from saying anything I’d regret. Taking a deep breath, I tried to remain professional while addressing the topic. Finally, my attention was brought to the person seated in front of me, to the world in front of me. With all the courage I could muster I stared dead into its

So, I made a wrong turn today - literally. My brother called to cancel plans while I was driving, and I ended up somewhere in the DEEP south. (cue banjos) But I am wholly confident that God uses every of my wrong turns for his good.

I was always told that things would change in highschool. You would meet new people, find new friends, and even discover a new class that amazes you. No one prepared me for what was going to happen Sophomore year though; no one saw it coming.

It is a somewhat unspoken agreement that people all have, and breaking this agreement is frowned upon. The bathroom is a very unsocial place. You go do your business and then leave, it is very simple. The social norm that I broke was talking to someone in the stall next to me, and continuing to have a conversation even when it was clear they did not want to have one.

When I was 5, my hands grew old and weary, tired of construction and calloused from work. Day after day after day, I would fashion new worlds and cultures out of little LEGO blocks. I worked fastidiously- creating tiny planes, guarded forts, and expansive cities that swept from one end of the carpet to the other. (I loved to make castles with booby-trapped moats and false walls and hidden entrances.)

I am a first generation child to have been born in my family, the first generation who is about to graduate high school and the first generation to go to a college and succeed in life.

“Who thought the baptism water would be as cold as an ice bath?” Much like anyone growing up in Las Vegas, or otherwise known as “Sin City,” we have always been surrounded by people from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Those people are commonly known as “Mormons.” Boy, let me tell you, there are Mormons everywhere in Vegas! There was always something about them that made me interested. There was a light as bright as the sun that always shined from them. They always had a smile on their face, from ear to ear and once you start talking to them I found that they are the nicest people. I then got to know and started hanging out with the Mormons. I then became interested with the religion aspect.

Growing up is very difficult. It takes time and responsibility that I thought I had. This summer I quickly realized that becoming an adult is not as easy as a person may think. I had to travel to Oxford for a day by myself, and I learned several lessons such as: always pay attention while driving, make sure to park in appropriate places, and be very cautious while driving in the rain.

Change is the constant thing in the world. From infancy till now many dramatic changes take place in my life physically, mentally, emotionally, psychologically intellectually etc.