A wave of apprehension washed over me the second I stepped inside the Fisher entrance of Grosse Pointe South. Although my friend Hope Whitney stood by my side, my eyes still darted around nervously as I walked through the crowded hallways filled with students clamoring to get to class. Coming from a small Catholic school, I felt unprepared for this hectic scene filled with so many unfamiliar faces, and figured it would be impossible to adjust to South.
El Capitán rang the small silver bell in my sophomore year Spanish class, indicating the daily two-minute phone break. My heart dropped as I read a text saying that I had been nominated to represent my class on the homecoming court. My initial urge was to ignore the text; there was no way I could walk across the field in front of the entire school. My friends encouraged me to accept the nomination, but I still felt frozen with uncertainty.
A few months later, as I sat at my desk doing homework, I felt taken aback when my mom handed me an application for TCBY. As my first shift approached, I found myself in a deeper state of dread with each passing day. Turns out, I was right to be worried; the first shift was a complete mess. I forgot to use a lid while blending a shake, I overflowed a cup with hot fudge and the manager redid my terrible attempt at cleaning the floors the following day. I swore to myself that I would quit and never return.
My first drive in driver’s training began with moving the seat up as close as possible to the wheel so my foot could graze the pedals. The drive ended with my instructor and Tara laughing as I ran over the curb while pulling over to switch drivers. That’s why I didn’t schedule my driver’s test until I was almost 17, while most of my friends had already been behind the wheel for a year.
Looking back on these times in high school, I’m reminded of the tortoise and the hare story. I was the tortoise– hesitant and never rushed through things. Although I initially felt unsure about each challenge I faced, I ended up crossing the finish line of every uncomfortable situation. I stayed at South, represented my class on the homecoming court, worked at TCBY for a year and I’m a pretty decent driver (despite getting pulled over for blowing a stop sign during my first week with a license). Finishing high school, I’ve grown out of my tortoise-like tendencies. Although I’m nervous about attending a college eight hours away, I’m confident that I can take the leap and finish the race strong.