In eighth grade, I was dreading having to leave behind my middle school experience. I didn’t want to leave my favorite teachers for a new, scary and intimidating school. Typically, that spring, students receive a tour of the high school to become familiarized with the place you’ll “live” at for the next four years. But in 2021, there was no tour. No chance to walk down the halls or see familiar faces. COVID took away that small sense of comfort and left us with a lot of unknowns. I remember stepping into the Fisher doors for the first time and having no idea what to expect. There was no map in my hand, but instead a mask on my face and a head full of worries.

Here’s the thing. After a week of feeling so small in such a large place, you start to feel like yourself again. At that point, you have figured out who’s in your classes, where the lunch room is and I know it’s hard to believe, but even how to complete high school homework. The school that we were all afraid of became a community, another one you don’t want to leave.

The biggest piece of advice I could give anyone is to just be yourself. I know it’s cliche, but truly it is the best thing I have done. In almost every situation I have been in, there has been some form of an embarrassing moment. Looking back, sure, I cringe, but I have never regretted something because of that. Another thing I could not stress more is to try EVERYTHING. Freshman year, I joined 16 clubs. Over the next three years, I dropped a few and joined even more. It showed me my passions and what I want to do after highschool. I was in different sports and a variety of classes. I’m aware that is extreme, but try something new as much as you can. Meeting these people and new teachers have been the best part of my four years.

There are ups and downs to high school. There will be issues with friends, grades or just the outside world. It’s okay to fall down, but you have to get back up. There will always be something weighing you down in life, but it is necessary to move forward.

It’s strange to think how far I have come, but I wouldn’t change one thing. As I move onto my next chapter, I’m not remembering my initial worries or a bad test, but rather the memories and family I found at South.