Most students would write about how they learned to make friends throughout their high school years and how they find that group that they feel comfortable in. But this is not one of those things I learned. Sure I made friends and lost some in the process, but some of them I’ve known all my life already. The most important thing I learned in school wasn’t how to make friends, it was how I found the strength to be myself and find who I really am.

My mom always used to say to me “I wish you were more like your sisters.” But now ever since I started my senior year of high school, she has been saying that I have really grown into becoming my own person. Throughout the 4 years of high school I have been from friends to friends, classes to classes and year to year. I can’t remember a whole lot of my freshmen year except for one night, which was homecoming. It was my first homecoming dance and I was so excited to go with a friend that I was friends with through out middle school. It was a memorable night because my boyfriend asked me out the first time at that dance. It was a great night I got a guy to dance with and my friend was sleeping over that night so we could talk about it still after it was done. My freshmen year I had my sister Lauren, who was a senior and it was great knowing I had her to guide me through my first year. Also in my freshmen year I had Mrs. Lynch as a school principle she was an amazing principle to have my freshmen year.

Sophomore year I pretty much cut out most of because come on who wants to remember MCAS, a creepy new principle, oh and new rules to come with him. My sophomore year was one that I don’t like look back on, but when I have to I will do it. This essay is about how I found myself and how I am the strong person I am today because of my past, so I have to talk about it. My sophomore year I was dating this guy and he was not the best guy. Things happened to me that I never thought I could talk about to anyone. I lost my best friend because of this guy and it broke me apart. I stayed with this guy for 6 months. After going through everything with this guy I never thought I could be with another guy again because I wasn’t so sure if I could ever trust another guy again. Even though it took me almost a year later to finally be able to tell someone about what I went through. After I told someone I never felt strong like I did then how I did at that moment. Sophomore may have been a hellhole of a year for me but looking back, it made me who I am today. It made me the strong woman I am today and it helped me stand up for myself in situations and make my voice heard.

Junior year wasn’t roses and lilies either; it was defiantly up there with humiliation and torture throughout high school. My junior I had a new principle again, Mrs. Szostak. She may be my principle till this day, but she wasn’t the best out of the ones I had throughout my years of high school. She took away our spirit weeks and pet rallies. That new rule didn’t go so well for the students of PHS. Anyways back to my year, I hated most of my junior year because I was bullied most of the time being and it wasn’t easy going through it when the girls that picked on me I used to call my friends. It was so bad that I wanted to transfer to a private school for my senior year. That didn’t go as planned and I didn’t have a choice anymore so I had to go back to PHS. There were a few people who helped me deal with everything I was going through last year. One of them was my boyfriend, Alex Ameen. He was the only reason why I could walk into that school without being as scared as I used to. He was always there for me when I needed him and he still is always there for me when I need him the most. Another person who was always there for me when I was going through everything that year was Mrs. Gerrity, the school therapist. Yes she works at the school, but she really helped me through it, she probably saw me cry more times in her office then I have ever cried in front of anyone. She helped show me that I can be stronger then that and that I can take what the world throws at me.

My years in high school were defiantly the worst years a girl could go through. My senior year was not what I expected; it was actually a good year. I made new friends in the beginning of the year and I am friends with them now still. My freshmen year was not bad, my sophomore and junior year well we all know how those were. My senior year was without a doubt the year that I felt so strong it was amazing. I know I went through a lot in 4 years, and that this may be only the beginning, but when thinking ahead I always think to myself, if I can get through all of this in 4 years and come out of it how I am today, then I know that I will be okay. The most important thing I learned in high school wasn’t how to do algebra or write a formal letter, it was about how strong I can truly be.