The nerves bubbled inside me as my dad and I approached the school. It was a large building, with kids filing out of the buses, sharing stories of their summers. Each kid was in a clean, crisp new outfit, excited to start the New Year.

On the other hand, I was the complete opposite. All I wanted to do was stay in the car with my dad. I smoothed my new skirt out for what was probably the thirteenth time as my dad said, “Alright kiddo, you can do this. Just show them who you are, they’ll love you.” Saying goodbye, I climbed out of the car, slowly, quietly meandering my way into the unfamiliar building.

All of the students were told to go to the auditorium first thing, and I had no idea where it was. I must’ve looked very confused, because a tall girl quickly came up to me. “Hi! Are you lost?” she asked. I nodded. “I’m Caroline, come with me. What’s your name?” I told her my name, along with where I had moved from. “Do you know what team you’re on?” she asked.

“6-3” I responded. I was too nervous to talk a lot, the butterflies in my stomach were flying faster than they ever had before.

“Oh no,” Caroline sighed, “I’m on 6-1, so we aren’t on the same team.” My heart plummeted. I couldn’t even stick with the one friend I had made. We took our seats and after a brief speech from the friendly principal, we were asked to go to our first period classes.

After having to ask two people for directions, I managed to find my social studies class. The teacher gave us assigned seats, and I sat next to a boy named Zak. He was also a new student that year, and much to my relief we quickly bonded over the cluelessness we shared in being new and became close. The day dragged on, I got lost on the way to most of my classes, meeting new people when I asked for directions. Each class was different, and while most students were kind, there are always a few unwelcome to new changes, who were unfriendly to the new faces joining their community.

As the year continued, I struggled to adapt to my new life. I was angry with my parents for making me leave the life I knew and loved. Bouncing from group to group, trying to find a place to fit in was a constant challenge. I was able to learn many valuable lessons. My experiences taught me that not everybody can be trusted, not everybody has good intentions, and you need to surround yourself with friends who make you feel good about yourself, not ones who will get you higher up on a social ladder. Not everybody is a nice person, and you do not need to change who you are in order to please people.

This was three years ago, and while I do miss my old life, and the journey to become happy and comfortable was long, I look back on it from my current position and believe moving was one of the greatest things that ever happened to me.