The moment I entered Hawthorne High School as a freshman I was terrified.

I wasn’t only scared for the older kids that I was going to meet, but also for the classes, which I believed, would be much harder than the ones I took at the Middle School.

I was a very quiet girl that did what she needed to do and I did not make many friends. I only stuck to the group of friends that I had made in the Middle School.

When I became a sophomore, things started to change. I started making new friends and I was hanging out more: I was talking more as well, but I was still shy because I still didn’t have a chance because Covid got in the way.

But when junior year arrived,  that’s when my shyness went away. I realized I was 1 year away from graduating:  I got  a job and that’s when I realized staying quiet is a bad idea.

People want to meet the real you; they don’t want to see the shy side of you. The main thing that made me get out of this comfort zone was my friends and teachers. The more people you know the more talkative you will be.

When senior year hit, and I was the top dog of the school, that’s when I was way more comfortable with everyone. It’s amazing what 4 years can do to a child…especially when they are in school.