In the Bubble

With schools across the country starting up again soon, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to provide some advice, lessons, and adventures during my time at school. After all, education is important not only from the classes we take to the socialization aspects but also from the discipline we have to figuring out who we are and who we want to become. As Malala Yousafzai once said, “The content of a book holds the power of education and it is with this power that we can shape our future and change lives”.

To start things off, I want to quickly discuss the bubble aka high school. As for the reason I consider high school to be a bubble, it’s because everything revolved around high school from dances, to friendship groups, to extra circular activities. It all seemed important and life-altering. But more often than not, it feels as though it is more life-altering than it actually is. We all experience embarrassing moments. Things go wrong or turn out a different way than expected but life goes on. The quicker you learn to laugh it off or let go it, the better.

For a little backstory on the high school I went too, there were five high schools in my district. Each one had an academy within them. For instance, my high school had the Visual and Performing Arts Academy. Meanwhile, where my brother had attended, his school had Science, Engineering, and Technology Academy. Besides those, there was also the Gifted and Talented Academy (it has since changed), the BEACON Academy of Media and Digital Arts, and World Language and International Studies (also has  changed).

Before going into my freshman year of high school, I decided to try out for the Visual and Performing Arts Academy at my high school. By this point, I had been in band for a couple years (7th and 8th grade) so I decided to go for it. What was the worst that could happen? Well for those of you who I had not met yet or don’t know in person, I was extremely quiet and quite shy. In other words, when I tried out, I gave it my best but the nerves got the best of me. I didn’t make it and I was quite embarrassed for some time. However, I didn’t let it stop me from pursuing my interest in band. Instead, I let it fuel my passion. I took it as an opportunity to continue to work for my goals. And unbeknownst to little, old me at the time, I made progress. Lots of it. But I didn’t recognize it until years later when high school was long gone.

However, from that experience, I learned the importance of goal tracking. The same goes for achievements. My advice is to keep track. Keep a journal, a list, an Excel spreadsheet, or a Google Doc of your goals and accomplishments. No goal or accomplishment is too small. One day you will look back and you will be astonished at how much you overcame. And oh boy will it be a story to share with the world. I suggest keeping a record for high school, college, your personal life as well as the workforce as it’ll be a game changer.

Now as I began Freshman year (9th grade), I was nervous. My best friend at the time, Jessie, and I planned our schedule so that we would be taking most of the same classes, including German. However, not too long before the school term was supposed to begin, she moved several states away. I was crushed. I didn’t know how I was going to handle the new school, schedule, classes, making new friends, and joining new activities on my own. It felt as though my heart was shattered. All the plans we dreamed of doing together came to a halt.

It was a big transition at the time. But once I dealt with the emotions and made changes to my schedule, little did I know how much my life would change. Instead of going into the year thinking about all the things we would miss out on together, I focused my attention on following my own interests. I switched from German to Spanish. I made the decision to join the Cross-Country team. And I put myself first. By doing so, I made so many amazing connections, discovered a lot about myself, and had a lot of fun experiences.

The takeaways I had from that situation was self-love and feeling my emotions, releasing them, and letting them go. I have always been an advocate to allow myself and others to express the emotions. It is powerful. I find it freeing myself. When I’m emotional, I’m find that I’m more creative. But more importantly, don’t let the world shame you into feeling a certain way. We are all human and we all have own emotions.

As for the other takeaway, it is to remember who you are. More specifically, learning to love who you are, taking care of yourself, and following your interests. High school and college is the best time to try new things, have new experiences, join a club that seems interesting, and make new friends. The older you get, the harder it is to make time for those things. It still happens but it still not as easy as when in high school and college.

Not too far into the year, I had made some new friends. More so, friendly acquaintances. We had met in Biology and seemed to hit it off. One day while I was in the hallway with another friend of mine, I was told that this “friend” said I smiled weird. I was taken aback. She never said anything directly to me but she did smirk at me when my friend told me. So, for a period of time, I saw her differently. Prior to that incident, I thought she was super cool. She had her own sense of style and she was great to get along with up until that comment. After that, we didn’t interact much but we were still respectful to one another. However, that comment has always stuck with me but I no longer hold it against her nor do I think of her any less now. I have realized it was high school. In high school, there is always some kind of drama happening.

During that period of my life, I was sensitive to criticism, I was extremely insecure, and I was quiet. I was quite confused about the whole thing. It wasn’t until later in life that I became more confident in my own skin and started to smile more often.

From there, the high school experience continued. Shortly thereafter, I joined the basketball team. And although my height was an advantage, I was too nice. I didn’t really enjoy the whole pushing, aggression thing. Safe to say, this was the only year I played basketball. Watching people play basketball, on the other hand, was great. But the best piece of advice I received from my coach was, “If you are 15 minutes early, you are on time. And if you are on time, you are late”. This has stuck with me to this day.

Now over the course of Freshman year, I was taking an English class and we were reading one of the Shakespeare books. For one of our assignments we had a project where we had to memorize lines of the play and present it in front of the class. I was so nervous. I had practiced for a while to memorize the lines. But then, when I went up in front of the class to speak, I froze. All I did was cry and hyperventilate. It was my worst fear, at the time, brought to life. Unfortunately, I don’t remember what happened next. I don’t know if I left the room or tried to hide in my seat. But after class, my teacher and I discussed the situation, she advised me to let her know next time, and that I could present in front of her only. Although it was one of the more embarrassing moments I had in high school, I am lucky to have had her as my teacher for Freshman year. She supported me in ways I didn’t realize I needed at the time.

To show you just how quiet and insecure I was in high school, I had my close friend ask her guy friend if he was interested in me and wanted to date. We ended up dating for a short period of time. But from what I remember, I was over at her place and we were talking in the street. When at one point or another, he called and he had asked if I loved him. I thought it was too soon and pretty abrupt but I was put on the spot and agreed. It was not my proudest moment ever as I still regret it to this day. A couple weeks went by and we experienced some hiccups in the relationship, not long after, we broke up. However, whenever I hear the song “Fifteen” by Taylor Swift, it brings me back to this memory. Moral of the story, if you are ever in this situation, take a step back and be honest of your feelings. Don’t feel peer pressured. Take things at your own pace.

As the end of the school year came to a close, I realized that I had been nervous entering high school for no reason. Things ended up working out. Sure, I had some times where I didn’t fit in, feel comfortable in my own skin, or wanted to run and hide from embarrassment. But I kept going. I continued to put myself out there and try new things. I worked hard and tried my best each and every day. And I continued to put one foot in front of the other. Soon enough, Sophomore year was around the corner. To find out more about the tea, cringiest moments, and the best of times of my Sophomore year, check out my new post “Easy Does It” on Monday, August 12th, 2024.

Also, I’m curious to hear if we have had similar or differing experiences in high school. Comment down below or connect with me on socials (Facebook Page “Inspire Those Who Inspire You or my Instagram @inspire.those.who.inspire.you.

As a signature of this blog, I like to end each post with a suggestion to “Pass on kindness”. After all, there is no such time as the present to “Inspire Those Who Inspire You”. Acts of kindness, no matter how big or small, can have a direct impact on someone else. Go out there today and change someone’s life for the better.