New Kid at School

Imagine being the new kid at a new, school, in a new state, and it is
Senior year plus, you don't know anyone. Could you do it? Picture
moving to a significantly smalller school where everyone knows
everything about each other. You might have too leave all of the people
you grew up with behind. You would have to leave your best friends and maybe
even your boyfriend or girlfriend. It wouldn't be easy.
       For me, when I moved to Lake Hamilton, it was scary and intense. It
was scary because I was starting over in a new school, where I didn't
know anyone. It was intense because I didn't want to be here in this state or in this school. I didn't
want to be taken away from my friends.
       Every year, there is at least one new student that moves into a school. Many of these kids feel alone, and they have no one that talks to them. Few people actually go up to them and introduce themselves to make that student feel comfortable. Usually, students introduce themselves
and they don't talk to the new kid anymore after first meeting them. It would be a
lot easier if everyone was much more welcoming.      
My experience at Lake Hamilton High School has been difficult. Many
kids already have a clique that they fit into, and they don't want to
stray from that  clique and make friends with new kids. On the first
day of school, maybe about ten people talked to me. I would walk into
class and people would look at me as though I was foreign. Today, as I am
writing this, it is my fourth day of school and I have a few friends
that I talk to everyday. I can say that I have friends at Lake
Hamilton. At my old school, I had a lot of friends that I talked to
and that I wasn't afraid to be myself around. They all love me for who
I am.
       This isn't the first time for me to be a new kid. When I first moved
to Red Oak, it wasn't easy. It wasn't as hard as it is moving to Lake
Hamilton because I was in Red Oak for so long, and I was younger when
I first started school there. It is easier making friends when you are
younger because there is no judging. When you get older and begin high
school it gets more difficult because people start becoming who they
really are.
       Honestly, all you can do is be yourself and do your best and hope
that you make good friends. No one is going to be your best friend on
your first day of school. If you give it time, things will work out
and get better. You just have to be open to new things, It is
important to make new kids feel welcome so that they enjoy their
experience at the new school they are joining. Just put yourself in their
shoes, you wouldn't want people to ignore you.
-Kristen Hunt