Personal Narrative: Why I Am Here

Why I’m Here
Everyday was the same at lunch, always the same table, chair, and friends. Sitting there eating with my perfectly packaged and labeled dysfunctional friend group everyday would cause a dent in my social butterfly wings. The mental labels put on different friend groups created a barrier for the ability to connect with new people. My parents had become the main target for my regulatory venting. One night the idea was brought up about transferring to a public school, Parkway South High School. This transition from a private high school with less than 300 students to a school with almost 2000 was a process that changed my life. Transferring schools helped reveal a concept within the reflection of my experience that you don't have to

This day gave me so much perspective on how limited my private school was compared to Parkway South High. The student I shadowed was Haley Voss, and she was a junior at the time. At first I felt that her being a junior would change my experience due to just being a freshman. She was extremely nice and that was something I saw reflected in the other students I met. Her tour gave me a good sense of the environment at Parkway South. One example of this friendly environment was shown in one of her classes I noticed she had friends who played lacrosse and friends who were just in the Winter Production. It was the first time the idea came up for me that going to a bigger school would have no limit on who you were friends with. There were definitely stereotypes, however they never would stop friendships from happening. After the shadow tour was given I reflected on the day and realized that it gave me the biggest sense of excitement I had ever felt at any

With my previous history on the volleyball teams I’ve played on, the idea of playing on another team was stressful. As I walked in the gym I remember being surprised by how many people were in there. What also surprised me was the fact that everyone already knew I was coming. There were, of course, the awkward and funny introductions but as soon as we started warming up I instantly felt included and was able to focus on showing the coach my skills because of it. As tryouts went on, I realized that the people on these courts were much more than the stereotypical athletic nerd or jock. There were people who sang in choir, performed on Parkways stage, and danced. They shared the same passion of playing volleyball but, didn't let their differences outside of volleyball separate them. This realization was incredible and impacted how I viewed limitations on making friends to seeing these limitations as