Leaving My Comfort Zone Behind
For as long as I can remember I went to public school. Bannockburn Elementary School, then Pyle Middle School, but then this year it all changed. I embarked on something I never thought I would, private school. My friends and I always thought private school was just some preppy sea of kids none of us liked. Little did I know, I wasn’t getting the full story. What I didn’t know was that there would be kids, teachers, and classes I would come to love. For a long time I couldn’t see this, I had tunnel vision. I could only imagine going from Bannockburn to Pyle to Whitman, to me that felt natural. It wasn’t until I stepped outside of my comfort zone that I realized I had been missing something all these years.
When I was in elementary school, I did an activity called drama club. At the end of the year we would put on a musical that we had been working on all year for all the parents. The show took place in the Whitman Auditorium, as did dress rehearsal. I stood on the stage singing my part as the youngest child in The Sound of Music. I looked out on to all the rows of seats; the room was so big it felt like it would swallow me up. It was unthinkable that one day I would walk those halls. After seven years of elementary school, which contained a crazy gym teacher, walking single file in the hallways, and having assigned seats at lunch, I was finally ready to move onto Middle School. At graduation my friends and I walked single file into the gym and stood on the bleachers. A powerpoint played with our baby photos, followed by pictures of us now. Then it was over and just like that I was on to my next adventure: Pyle Middle School.
Then I entered Pyle, and compared to Bannockburn, it was “ginormous.” I was positive I was going to get lost on my first day. I was a tiny 6th grader in the sea of smelly and scary 7th and 8th graders. My friends and I clung to each other just trying to make it to class as 8th graders ran into us while yelling, “Watch it”. Not only were the other kids terrifying but I also had what both my friends and I would call a crazy science and gym teacher. After a while I got used to it. We all learned to avoid the kids in the grades above us and to try not to talk in the crazy teacher’s classes (which was pretty hard for me). I then advanced to 7th grade. Seventh grade, for me and pretty much everyone I have ever met, sucked. In 7th grade you were basically like the middle child and the administration does not really care about you. My history teacher especially hated kids, which made me wonder why he taught them. One day I was taking a test and when I dropped my pencil and leaned down to get it, he told me not to move. So I sat there and then he yelled at me for not working. Now don’t get me wrong, Pyle was not all bad. I had great English teachers and awesome friends and the lady at the front desk, Ms. Van Dyke, loved me. In 8th grade I could not contain my excitement because all I wanted to do was go to Whitman and be in high school. Of course I did enjoy the perks of being an 8th grader. For example, when I walked down the 6th grade hallways with my friends, there was a circle of empty space around us, because the 6th graders avoided us at all costs, just as I had done two years earlier.
One day it all changed. It was just another Saturday; I was sitting down finishing my English Paper and making plans with my friends to hang out that night. My sister was planning to go to Private School the next year and she had been going to all these open houses. That day she was visiting yet another school called St. Andrews. My mom had gotten me to tag along but I arrived completely close-minded, because I knew I wanted to go to Whitman. We pulled up at St. Andrews and there it was. There were these ladies standing in front of the school handing out pamphlets and name tags. They had smiles from ear to ear, so I assumed they were on the PTA. I continued on and all I was thinking was “don’t get attached you’re going to Whitman.” But the farther into the building I walked, the more I liked it. Everyone was so welcoming. Well long story short, I began to think about St. Andrews more and more. I ended up going on a shadow day, then applying, then going to the interview, but it wasn’t tell I got my acceptance letter, that it felt real. I wrestled for a while with whether or not I wanted to go to St. Andrews. I didn’t want to leave all of my friends. I worried that I wouldn’t like anyone at my new school, but eventually I decided to go.
My last day at public school came along with teary goodbyes with all of my friends and promises that we would hang out all the time and stay in contact. Summer passed and my first day of preseason soccer came. I was so unbelievably nervous. I was going to meet new people and I wanted to make a good impression. When my mom rolled up in front of the field I’m pretty sure my heart was beating a million miles per minute. I got out of the car and was immediately welcomed by my soon to be teammates. I thought to myself that maybe this place wouldn’t be so bad. When the first day of school rolled around I met even more people and soon I had a great group of friends.
What I have found at St. Andrews is an environment that makes me feel connected and motivated, something I never experienced in public school. Whenever I hear the supportive voice of my soccer coach Glen Whitman who continues to check up on me throughout the year even though the soccer season is long over or laugh with my new amazing friends, it never fails to put a smile on my face. I think where would I be if I hadn’t taken a chance and tried something new. I would probably be sitting in an English lecture drowning in a class of 32 kids, instead of sitting in a circle of 16 kids discussing Romeo and Juliet in my Honors English Class. I would probably be a less involved kid as I was never the athletic superstar, but instead I have joined a varsity team each trimester, even trying sports I have never played. I would probably be an average student who made Honor Roll along with 300 other kids, never really given the chance to stand out, instead of aiming for High Honor Roll and distinguishing myself. I am constantly given the opportunity to try new things and learn new things about myself, something that I am grateful for every day and would never trade.
Sometimes it is scary to try new things, and its okay to be nervous when you take a risk. I learned, however, that when you let go of your tunnel vision and step out of your comfort zone, you open the door to new incredible experiences, and that is something not to be missed.
For as long as I can remember I went to public school. Bannockburn Elementary School, then Pyle Middle School, but then this year it all changed. I embarked on something I never thought I would, private school. My friends and I always thought private school was just some preppy sea of kids none of us liked. Little did I know, I wasn’t getting the full story. What I didn’t know was that there would be kids, teachers, and classes I would come to love. For a long time I couldn’t see this, I had tunnel vision. I could only imagine going from Bannockburn to Pyle to Whitman, to me that felt natural. It wasn’t until I stepped outside of my comfort zone that I realized I had been missing something all these years.
When I was in elementary school, I did an activity called drama club. At the end of the year we would put on a musical that we had been working on all year for all the parents. The show took place in the Whitman Auditorium, as did dress rehearsal. I stood on the stage singing my part as the youngest child in The Sound of Music. I looked out on to all the rows of seats; the room was so big it felt like it would swallow me up. It was unthinkable that one day I would walk those halls. After seven years of elementary school, which contained a crazy gym teacher, walking single file in the hallways, and having assigned seats at lunch, I was finally ready to move onto Middle School. At graduation my friends and I walked single file into the gym and stood on the bleachers. A powerpoint played with our baby photos, followed by pictures of us now. Then it was over and just like that I was on to my next adventure: Pyle Middle School.
Then I entered Pyle, and compared to Bannockburn, it was “ginormous.” I was positive I was going to get lost on my first day. I was a tiny 6th grader in the sea of smelly and scary 7th and 8th graders. My friends and I clung to each other just trying to make it to class as 8th graders ran into us while yelling, “Watch it”. Not only were the other kids terrifying but I also had what both my friends and I would call a crazy science and gym teacher. After a while I got used to it. We all learned to avoid the kids in the grades above us and to try not to talk in the crazy teacher’s classes (which was pretty hard for me). I then advanced to 7th grade. Seventh grade, for me and pretty much everyone I have ever met, sucked. In 7th grade you were basically like the middle child and the administration does not really care about you. My history teacher especially hated kids, which made me wonder why he taught them. One day I was taking a test and when I dropped my pencil and leaned down to get it, he told me not to move. So I sat there and then he yelled at me for not working. Now don’t get me wrong, Pyle was not all bad. I had great English teachers and awesome friends and the lady at the front desk, Ms. Van Dyke, loved me. In 8th grade I could not contain my excitement because all I wanted to do was go to Whitman and be in high school. Of course I did enjoy the perks of being an 8th grader. For example, when I walked down the 6th grade hallways with my friends, there was a circle of empty space around us, because the 6th graders avoided us at all costs, just as I had done two years earlier.
One day it all changed. It was just another Saturday; I was sitting down finishing my English Paper and making plans with my friends to hang out that night. My sister was planning to go to Private School the next year and she had been going to all these open houses. That day she was visiting yet another school called St. Andrews. My mom had gotten me to tag along but I arrived completely close-minded, because I knew I wanted to go to Whitman. We pulled up at St. Andrews and there it was. There were these ladies standing in front of the school handing out pamphlets and name tags. They had smiles from ear to ear, so I assumed they were on the PTA. I continued on and all I was thinking was “don’t get attached you’re going to Whitman.” But the farther into the building I walked, the more I liked it. Everyone was so welcoming. Well long story short, I began to think about St. Andrews more and more. I ended up going on a shadow day, then applying, then going to the interview, but it wasn’t tell I got my acceptance letter, that it felt real. I wrestled for a while with whether or not I wanted to go to St. Andrews. I didn’t want to leave all of my friends. I worried that I wouldn’t like anyone at my new school, but eventually I decided to go.
My last day at public school came along with teary goodbyes with all of my friends and promises that we would hang out all the time and stay in contact. Summer passed and my first day of preseason soccer came. I was so unbelievably nervous. I was going to meet new people and I wanted to make a good impression. When my mom rolled up in front of the field I’m pretty sure my heart was beating a million miles per minute. I got out of the car and was immediately welcomed by my soon to be teammates. I thought to myself that maybe this place wouldn’t be so bad. When the first day of school rolled around I met even more people and soon I had a great group of friends.
What I have found at St. Andrews is an environment that makes me feel connected and motivated, something I never experienced in public school. Whenever I hear the supportive voice of my soccer coach Glen Whitman who continues to check up on me throughout the year even though the soccer season is long over or laugh with my new amazing friends, it never fails to put a smile on my face. I think where would I be if I hadn’t taken a chance and tried something new. I would probably be sitting in an English lecture drowning in a class of 32 kids, instead of sitting in a circle of 16 kids discussing Romeo and Juliet in my Honors English Class. I would probably be a less involved kid as I was never the athletic superstar, but instead I have joined a varsity team each trimester, even trying sports I have never played. I would probably be an average student who made Honor Roll along with 300 other kids, never really given the chance to stand out, instead of aiming for High Honor Roll and distinguishing myself. I am constantly given the opportunity to try new things and learn new things about myself, something that I am grateful for every day and would never trade.
Sometimes it is scary to try new things, and its okay to be nervous when you take a risk. I learned, however, that when you let go of your tunnel vision and step out of your comfort zone, you open the door to new incredible experiences, and that is something not to be missed.
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