Best Buds Changed My Entire High School Experience by Kaylie

Best Buds Changed My Entire High School Experience by Kaylie - January 2017 Scholarship Essay

An extracurricular club at Coginchaug Regional High School absolutely helped inspire me to make a difference in my school community. When I first moved to Durham a month before entering high school, I faced the issue of being an outsider, not just because of the new school, but because of the town culture as a whole. Moving from a city suburb to a small town was a huge shock. Going into high school, like most new students, I sat alone for the first couple weeks until I was able to get an understanding of the school community and make some new friends. Sitting alone and observing the school community opened my eyes to the prominent stigma associated with the idea that people who are different from us are the ones we should exclude from social events or friendship groups.
I first began making friends when I joined a club at school called Best Buds, a club where students with disabilities go on field trips and make friends with other students. The privilege to be a part of this club has been a huge part of my high school experience and with it, came the opportunity to ask my best friend Jake, who has down syndrome, to prom. During my junior year, we as a club went bowling and this is where I first asked him if he’d want to go to prom with me, a way to mitigate the stigma that I first learned as a freshman. Jokingly he laughed and kept dancing in the alley but then I began to talk to his paraprofessional teacher and we started to think of something huge.
Besides dancing, I knew Jake loved to play basketball and would later be receiving the MVP award for basketball at a huge, school-wide winter sports banquet in the coming month. In the days leading up to the big banquet I made a huge poster with the word “Prom?” on it and prepared my little cheesy speech for him. The day of was the most nerve racking since I wanted to make this moment one my best friend would never forget. I stood up in the overflowing auditorium once he received his award and said “Jake, it's incredible that you just received the MVP award for basketball. I bet you have to make a lot of shots to get that, huh? Well I hope you can make one more and take a shot at going to prom with me.” Before I could finish my sentence, his confused face went to a huge smile and the crowd went crazy. Tears ran down people's faces as they awed and cheered for my best friend.
The day of prom was fantastic; Jake’s sneakers and bands in his braces matched his tie and my dress, however the days after prom were even better. Jake carried around our photos from the photo booth and, with a huge smile on his face, showed everyone he could in and out of school. Jake’s mom thanked me multiple times for making prom such a special time for him, especially because she didn't think he would even go because of his disability. The opportunity to take Jake to prom turned into an amazing experience for everyone and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
My proposal to Jake and our friendship in general continues to give me an indescribable feeling of happiness and pride. However, when people praise me and tell me I’ve done a special thing, I laugh to myself. Being kind shouldn’t be looked upon as doing a heroic act, but rather as a societal normality. Giving back to others and the community and wanting to make a difference in someone’s life is what makes me, me. My small act of challenging the stigma may not cure all that ails society, but it was a start.