Coming in as a freshman is a weird thing. I had so many questions running through my head my first day. Will I keep the same friends I had in middle school? Will I make new friends? Will being on the Varsity volleyball team help me make new friends? Will the boys like me? All of this was totally normal right? The school year went on, and it was pretty great. I was oblivious to half the things that happened, which was probably a good thing. It wasn't all I thought it was going to be, but at the same time it wasn't horrible. High school was just plain old high school.
Sophomore year was a little different. I wasn't the low end of the totem pole anymore, so I had a little more "authority." I decided not to play volleyball, so I didn't have the same friends. I had to make new friends again. Friends in high school make or break the person you later become in life. No one likes making new friends, and moving from group to group really sucks. Plus there is nothing worse then feeling like you don't fit in. I thought I was doing good. I had fun and was making connections. There was just something that bothered me. I wasn't getting all that I wanted. I was always comparing myself to other girls. I wanted the name brand clothing, wore a butt load of make up, and tried way to hard to get attention from guys. Nothing about that was fun.
Junior year is another story. Again I was trying to fit in with the popular crowd. Name brand this. More make up here. Tighter shirt there. blah blah blah. Not the ideal teenager a parent wanted to see. I wasn't doing anything wrong, but none of it wasn't feeling right. After second semester was over, my mom came to me and told me I didn't have to go to public school anymore. She was starting up her own private school, so I could attend that or I could do my own studying at home. I throughly considered what she was telling me and decided to "drop out" of high school.
The next semester I did a little soul searching. I needed to find who I really was and not who I wanted to be by comparing myself to others. Man was that eye opening. I figured out that I really love learning. Not only do I love learning, but I love it even more when I find it myself. I have recently found my love for rock climbing and it is exhilarating. Over that next semester I preceded to read some of the classics. It was hard to motivate myself, but I did it. I really thought I had it all. I was able to control my own schedule, I learned a ton, and I still got to be with my friends over the weekend.
Senior year rolls around and I had a decision to make. I knew I didn't want to go back to public school, but I wasn't self motivated enough to keep doing what I was doing. My mom threw out a few options: Her school, Kimber Academy, or Williamsburg Academy. There was no chance I was going to go to her school, so the obvious choice was Williamsburg. I didn't get a whole lot of information about WA, but there was a last minute camp that I went to. MAN ALIVE I FOUND WHERE I BELONGED. There was no question. Williamsburg Academy was the place for me. I got to control my schedule, I was able to learn at deeper extent, and the culture was phenomenal. There were a few hick ups along the way, but they were worth it 100%.
So that brings me to LIFE AFTER HIGH SCHOOL...
I love it. I now know who I am. I am not the girl that wears a ton of make up. I hardly wear any now, and most days I don't even wear it. I don't want to be "popular" anymore because they don't have real fun. At least not the fun I am looking for. I want to see the world and explore the outdoors. No more name brand jeans. The only name brands I wear now are North Face, Mountain Hardwear, Patagonia, etc. I also learned that I could live as a minimalist.
The last two weeks I have been camping. The first week I lived in a tent, but the second week I lived out of my car. I had 2 pairs of jeans, 4 t-shirts, and 3 pairs of shorts, but I was completely and utterly okay with that. I did wash as I went and didn't have to ask the question of, "what am I going to wear today." Those two weeks were the best. I was with like-minded people (who I grew to love), I got to climb as I traveled, and wasn't comparing myself to anyone. I would say the only reason my life is better after high school is because I had great friends that influenced me to be me, and I FOUND OUT WHO I REALLY WAS. Not who I thought I wanted to be.
Alleigh
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