Change is something I hadn’t always been fond of. While I did occasionally enjoy the thrill of a new experience, I had a tendency to stay with what is comfortable. However, high school seemed to have other plans for me..
The chaos of COVID-19 put my first year entirely online. This meant I had to transition from eighth grade in a school with a population of 200, to complete isolation, to a high school with more students than the classrooms could fit. So much change in only 2 years made my head spin, and I thought I could barely take a step in this school without getting lost in its numerous hallways and homogeneous rooms.
Yet, it was this change that made high school the most defining experience of my nearly 18 years of life. The ups and downs and trial and error all made these four years worth it. And though I did tumble through these halls, eventually I found my footing, and now I’m ready to step away.
If there’s anything I’ve learned here that I’ll take with me to college, it’s that no matter what you’ll always find your people. You just need to spend time out of your comfort zone, even for a little bit. Raising my hand in class when the rest of the room was quiet introduced me to people who were willing to listen. Doing those dreaded first day icebreakers helped me gain information and perspectives I’d never explored before, even from the simplest questions. Joining clubs like The Tide and Black Maskers, no matter how long or short the experience was, allowed me to be among people who shared my interests, providing spaces where I could be authentic.
When I walk out of these doors for the last time, I know I’ll miss sitting by the track field during breaks, the conversations I had in English class with my friends (on topic or not), and heading to Rockville Town Center to drink coffee in the library until the tree lights came on. I know these memories and the feelings they gave me will make their way into the books I write and the stories I tell at the dinner table. Students will come and go, and at some point there will be no one in the school that remembers me at all, but I’ll have been so familiar with change that that won’t bother me. Instead of wishing for the past, I’ll be focused on the present, and whatever comes after that.
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