When I was in eighth grade, I posted a six word sentence; I’m so ready for high school. No more than thirty minutes later, an older, high school student, I was friends with online commented under my post; You just do not know smh. I remember looking at my cell phone not only confused but shocked, wondering what she meant by that. So, I then replied; What do you mean? At that time I believed high school would be a breeze, less drama, less of my immature peers, less teachers breathing down my neck, telling me what was right from wrong, asking for my homework, and more freedom than what I received in elementary school or middle school.

A few minutes later she would reply with a High School will change you, but not in a good way. Plenty of drama, tons of work, and it’s depressing. Just sayin’ I decided not to reply to her, a few weeks later I deleted the post, because at the time I didn’t like the negativity she brought.

In elementary school, teachers told me middle school teachers wouldn’t tolerate my late work or my knack for showing up late to school. I can personally say that was not true. My middle school teachers informed me that high school teachers wouldn’t like my attitude or my knack to show up to school late. I can personally say that wasn’t true either. Through elementary school and middle school, all I really cared for was writing about sports or just writing down my feelings on paper. Math I didn’t particularly care about. Science I couldn’t particularly care about. History I didn’t particularly care about. The electives in middle school, I didn’t care for. Nothing in elementary school or middle school really interested me. There was nothing in my middle school that let me express my feelings or write about sports, which was something I valued and loved.

Therefore, I began writing sports stories or my feelings on my own paper, on my time at my house. That’s when I knew what I wanted for my future; I wanted to be a sports journalist.

When I sat down with my counselor at the end of eighth grade year, I had no clue that LC had a journalism program, so I continued with my sports writing, particularly about football – which was and still is my favorite sport to watch and write about – and my opinion writing.

It wasn’t until my sophomore year of high school, when I discovered that LC had a Journalism class. I was excited about learning how to write correctly and the differently ways to write in journalistic style. After I completed my first journalism class I joined the school’s newspaper and yearbook. The two classes that broke me out of my shell of nervousness and shyness when it came to talking with strangers. Not because I wanted to, but because I had to. I had to quickly get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

LC gave me that freedom I’ve been on the search for since elementary school to do something I love. I got the chance to write about my opinions on certain topics and the chance to write about sports, the two single things of why I love journalism.

So, to that girl who commented under my Facebook post to some extent: you are correct, yes I still have to deal with drama, the immaturity of my peers, and the excessive homework from my eight class periods, but to me it’s all worth it. High school helped me extend my passions from writing on a piece of paper to posting on my school’s online newspaper and my school’s annual yearbook, those two classes helped break me out of a shell I believed I could never escape. Everything high school brings is all worth it, especially if I can write about what I love and cover what I plan on pursuing in the nearby future.

This is how LC changed me.