Sophomore year. The 2020-2021 school year, the proclaimed worst year of everyone's life. I don’t like to hop on the wagon and say the year sucked just because that’s what everyone else is saying. But to say that Sophomore year was a tough year is an understatement. Experiences I hope to never experience again, people I hope I never see again, pressure I hope I never feel again. These are just the basics of how my year went. I grew up going to the same small private school for 12 years, Pre-k to 10th grade. The same faces I had seen for my whole life, all day, every day It got very repetitive. Only 80 kids in my grade kind of forced me to be close to your classmates. It can be good to be close to classmates but it can also negatively affect people, especially when I don’t get along with them for some reason. My reason was because of the way they talked to me, down on me If I didn’t get a 95 on the test like they did. Or how they lied to my face about something and I have to find out the truth over a month later. 

By the end of the year around May, my parents and I were deep in discussion about transferring schools. I was excited because all I wanted for the past 2 years was a fresh start at a new school with new people. Somewhere where I could go and see people I don’t necessarily know. It can be comforting sometimes to be by people I’m not close or connected to, because I know that more than likely that person has never done anything to me, never said anything bad about me, probably doesn't even know my name. Just two people in the exact same position, going about life, just trying to get past that one group of kids walking slower than you thought was possible so I’m aren’t late to fifth hour. The decision ended up being Arrowhead High School, I was so happy when we received the letter stating that Arrowhead had accepted my open enrollment application. Everyone kept asking me if I was nervous about starting at a new school as a junior, and on top of that, going from a grade with 80 kids to a grade with over 500 kids. With out even thinking, I just said “no I’m not worried” or “nah I’ll be fine.” But as the summer went on and it got closer and closer to school starting, I started thinking about it a lot. This is when I began to realize that I was, in fact, nervous.

 I had a few friends there already, but I wasn’t always going to be with them or be paired up with them in classes. I was going to be the new kid, I had never been the new kid. I didn’t know how I was going to make friends or meet new people. I was so nervous walking into school on the first day, I thought everyone would be staring at me. But they didn’t, they just acknowledged me as the new kid and there was nothing more to it. That was such a relief to me, I felt so much more relaxed and comfortable then when I was overthinking over the summer. 

To be honest, when I was going through through the process of switching schools over the summer, I hated my old school. I was so angry with the school and the people there, that I didn't even want to think about it. Since school has started this year, I have been thinking about my old school, my old team, my old classmates. I don’t necessarily miss all of that too greatly, but I have realized that I am not angry with the school anymore. I actually appreciate and thank them for giving me this chance to have a fresh start, a clean slate. A chance to make new friends and explore new opportunities. They have given me a chance to grow as a person, and I have gladly accepted that offer.