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Avery Bish

Geiselman

English Composition 1

September 1st, 2018

Growing Up

I step off of the bus on the first day of seventh grade. The air smells of wet pavement and

new possibilities. As I stroll down the hallway, I radiate confidence. It took me three days to pick

out the outfit I was wearing and two hours to tame my unruly lions mane into a silky smooth

satin-like state. Waving and smiling at everyone, the first day of school was always my favorite. A

clean slate with many new possibilities. I had the same friend group through all of elementary

school. Like a pack of wolves, we always stuck together. Coincidentally, we all had the same first

period. I walk into math class and am greeted by a thousand smiles and hugs from my best friends.

I was on cloud nine. No one could touch me.

I slide out of my mom’s maroon van on the first day of sophomore year. The first day of

school is an opportunity for a fresh start, and I am very optimistic. My friend, TJ, hops out of the

backseat and radiates hopefulness and excitement. I have known TJ since kindergarten and he is

practically my second brother at this point. We talk all the way from the car to the front doors about

how excited we are to start this year. As we graduated from the rank of Freshman to the title of

Sophomores, we also graduated from the freshman building, which is separate from the main high

school building. TJ opens the door for me, like the gentleman he is, and we step into the

thunderdome. This is where we will spend the next three years of our lives. I do not think I realized

how many kids actually went to my school. People always say to find the needle in the haystack,
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but this time I was the needle. I turn to talk to TJ, because he was the only one I knew amongst the

field of unfamiliar faces, but he is already with his friends. As I walk amongst the endless sea of

teenagers, I feel eyes piercing my skin from every angle. I take a deep breath and try to focus on

the comforting smell of hope and opportunity, but I end up choking on the smell of teen angst and

B.O.. I push up my glasses and slouch a little bit, hoping that something else would take

everyone’s eyes off of me. I look at the ground as I make my way to my first period. I breathe a

sigh of relief as I enter the Algebra Honors Two classroom, but the relief exits my body almost as

quickly as it entered. I see a few kids I know from middle school, but they now have other friends

and the only attention they give me is a second of eye contact and a quick smile. Immediately I

locate a seat in the back of the classroom and claim it as my own. After seven minutes of sitting on

my phone, the high-pitched screech of the bell signals the beginning of class.

Once I entered high school, I learned quickly why I only had one group of friends all

throughout middle school. Without my friends, I am extremely quiet, shy, and I lack confidence.

Because of this, It was hard for me to make new friends. On the second day of sophomore year, I

talked to my new biology teacher, Mrs.Ahles. She said that I seem like the kid who sits quietly in

the back of the classroom and does what they need to do to pass the class. I told her that I definitely

am that kid, that I was one who never wants to be the center of attention. She proceeded to tell me

that I should gain some confidence in myself and make new friends and be more talkative (every

once in a while at least). Making friends is what makes high school fun. The entire rest of the day, I

thought about what Mrs. Ahles had told me. I did want high school to be fun. The next day in

class, I did not sit on my phone before class started. I talked to kids around me. I made new friends.

Mrs.Ahles taught me to not be scared of meeting new people and that it is ok to poke my head out
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and push myself outside of my comfort zone. I am thankful that she told me to gain some

confidence and make new friends because the social aspect of school is what makes school fun. I

am still working on my confidence when it comes to making new friends, but I am getting there. I

already have at least three friends in every class.