As I sit here writing this, I am in the process of my last set of
summatives. Ever. It definitely is a nice feeling, knowing that in a few weeks
I’ll be finished high school forever, and it had me thinking, mostly reflecting
on my years at this school. I can’t say I’ve loved all of my years here, but
they’ve been some pretty important ones to me. These are the years of our
adolescence, where we make mistakes, find ourselves, and I suppose learn to be
adults. The one thing I’d really like to attribute to this school was my own
personal journey, the one where I figured out what I wanted and learned not to
care about the rest of the world.
In grade 9 I was really shy. Really shy. I remember stressing about
what kind of clothes I should wear on the first day so that I wouldn’t stand
out too much, and working myself up, convincing myself I would talk to at least
one person that day. I spent a good
part of the year not really feeling comfortable and looking forward to
university, despite it being eons away. It was really tough; I came from a
private school and knew next to no one, and wasn’t used to the freedom of
wearing what you want, or the casual tone students took to not doing well in
courses. Everything felt foreign. My first step out was when I noticed a recurring
trend in our vocal class. If someone was sick, they’d come in wearing a
fashionable scarf to signify their illness. I knew I had to get a unique scarf
in case I got sick as well. I’ve always loved scarves, the more colourful or
unique the better. I started to wear scarves all through winter; it wasn’t
much, I didn’t suddenly become
confident, but I had something that was my own. And I must admit that having
something of my own was a very nice feeling indeed.
My summer passed quietly, and I moved into grade 10. I didn’t have a
lot of friends at this point but I was better off than I had been. The
beginnings of the year started off uneventful. I focused on my vocal studies,
and was comfortable with a few friends to sit with at lunch. I joined the newly
budded Manga Club, a decision I will never regret. I found myself dreading the
rest of my high school life less and less, which was a relief. At the time I
didn’t know it, but my gradual involvement in the school is really what helped
me open up. It was through clubs like choir and manga club that I’d feel more
comfortable talking to people and worried less about silly things like
embarrassing myself. I am a very emotional person, and in years prior had
trouble getting a handle on my emotions when I was embarrassed or scared. I’m
glad to say I’ve mostly outgrown this, and this is because I stuck my neck out
and joined a few clubs.
Now that I’m in my final year, I’ve grown a lot as a person,
something I don’t think I would have done if I hadn’t taken a risk coming to
this school, putting myself out there and doing things how I want to. If I had
to give advice to any younger grades, or anyone who wants to reach out and make
friends, I’d say put yourself out of your comfort zone, join groups of people
with similar interests and don’t worry about how people see you.
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