A Helping Hand by Leslie

A Helping Hand by Leslie - June 2014 Scholarship Essay

“I’m scared,” was the very first thought that ran into my head when I stepped foot on high school grounds my freshman year. I expected the upperclassmen to pick on me the instant they saw me and yell out, “Hey! Get a load of the fresh meat!” And they did all of that. I was shoved from upperclassman to the next and harassed at my locker. Just kidding. High school is not like the movies. The most eventful thing that happened to me on my first day of school was walking into the wrong class (so embarrassing by the way).

If I had the opportunity, I would write a high school handbook for everyone going through the process, especially for the ‘tweens’ who are transitioning to high school. It would contain advice on how to make it from freshman year to senior year, how to pick classes, the type of teachers they’ll encounter, the friends they’ll make, and what to expect throughout their journey with a checklist of what needs to be done throughout the four years.

Freshman year, especially, is intimidating and scary but it can also be loads of fun. It is the most pivotal year. It’s when they’ll establish the friends that they will probably be talking to for the rest of their high school careers. So I think it’s important that get the guidance they need to ensure them that it’s okay to feel nervous and they aren’t alone. Tweens will do anything to feel like they’re cool and fit in. I think this high school handbook will help them in assessing who their real friends are, especially when reading it from someone who has experienced it.

I remember trying to fit in with someone I’d be better off not talking to. It was during my freshman year and I was afraid because I didn’t know anyone. Then I noticed a girl, a popular one, who went to the same middle school as me. I started off by simply greeting her everyday to establish what I though would become a friendship. Soon after, every Monday at lunch, she’d ask me for $1 out of my allowance to eat so I gave it to her. This went on every week for about two months until I realized that she wasn’t even eating lunch after I gave her my money. She didn’t want to be friends; she just liked the free money she was getting. When she asked me again, I refused to give her another penny and she never talked to me again. All in all, teenagers will do anything to get noticed but a high school handbook will hopefully set things straight.

One of the most important things that incoming freshman need to know is that they should go to their school’s orientation because it’ll save a lot of confusion on the first day of school. They’ll probably get their class schedules and a tour of their school, which they’ll need to know (like they know their BFFL’s) inside and out. A head start never hurt anyone.

Some people are mistaken when they say that high school is just about the coursework and getting into college. It’s about the pep rally’s, the tryouts, the pop quizzes, homecoming, prom, the up’s, the downs, and the memories because they lead to the ultimate goal— graduation!