Torn down, tired, afraid, and lonely. That’s how my I felt throughout my first few years of high school.  It was a struggle to get up in the morning because I felt secluded from everyone.

I was a lost soul walking around confident faces. The hallways felt long, as if I could never reach the end.  I attended Romeo High School.

When I reached my sophomore year a massive decision came over my head. My parents offered to remove me from Romeo and have me attend Utica High School. At first I was hesitant and it took me a few months to make a decision, but in the end I knew what the best decision for me was.

I became the new kid. Once I spoke publicly about switching schools a lot of my peers put on a show and acted like they were going to miss me. I consistently received texts saying “I wish we talked more” or “I’m going to miss you so much”.

They may seem like they’re being kind, but in reality I had a class with them all year and they didn’t converse with me once. I learned very quickly that people will put on a mask and fake their way to attention.

Sophomore year finally ended and it was time for me to visit Utica high school to pick out my new classes. I was extremely nervous knowing that my new peers were still in school for another week. Upon arrival, I’ve seen a few unfamiliar faces gaze by me in the halls, but this time I could see the end clearly.

I felt like I was not alone and I broke out of my dark, thick shell . My mind felt lighter, it stopped being weighted down with negativity. This was just the beginning.

Summer flashed before my eyes and it was finally my first day of attending Utica High School. Before walking through the doors I looked up at the blue sky, took a deep breath, and walked to my first hour.

I kept my head up high, wearing a light blue jean dress and my hair pulled back, I walked into physics. I gazed at my surroundings and I walked into a class with mostly men. I could feel my heart beating out of my chest, one pump at a time.

From across the room I met eyes with a girl with long dark brown hair. She had just moved so we instantly got along. She saved me from a long day of exhaustion, knowing someone else was in my shoes made me feel a lot better.

Once the hour ended, the most terrifying part came upon me, walking in the hallway and finding my classes. The first step out the door I instantly got stared down. No one knew who I was or my story. I was an unread book throughout a best selling book store. Everyone knew everyone, so that leaves me.

Throughout the day people would try to figure out who I was. They were all very kind, but I said what everyone wanted to hear. They wanted to hear that I was confident, outgoing, and financially stable. I wasn’t fully what they wanted me to be, but I stayed true to myself to my best ability.

I’m not perfect so eventually everyone that I had met that day had turned the other direction, but that is okay. Not everything will turn out the way you expected it to be. In high school everyone dreams about being the prom queen, varsity captain, 4.0 GPA student with a tremendous amount of friends. That was never me.

Towards the middle of the year I was introduced to friends that love me for who I am and not what car I drive or where I live. They were truly the best thing that has ever happened to me and I will stick by there side for as long as I can. Being the new kid might be hard and tiring at first, but it’s a fresh start.

You’re able to start over and rewrite your story the way you want. Every chapter will be different, but that’s the beauty of it. Today I am apart of the track and field team,  newspaper, yearbook, Student Leadership Program, and even a University of Michigan work study.

Before I was known as the new kid I was known as nothing. I was the girl that barely came to school and her name was whispered throughout the halls. I went from someone else telling my story to taking control and writing my own version.

Choosing becoming the new kid changed my life for the better.