Cady did it in Mean Girls, Callie and Jude had to go through it in the Fosters, and then there’s me with the same dilemma. The common factor here is being “the new kid” in school.  With that unescapable feeling that exhilarates you all the while making you want to go shrink into a corner in the fetal position, the newness of new can be overwhelming.   I am all too familiar with being “the new kid.”  I have been in every school type imaginable.

I remember the separation anxiety from home when I went from homeschool kindergarten to first grade private school.  I think I wished a little too hard for a piece of home at school, because a few years later my mom got a job at that school as the math teacher.  Looking in, it seems nice to have teacher’s kid privileges; but, at least for me, the bad side of keeping up an image outweighed the fun. Even though it was difficult, I toughed out that school for seven years. That school was not the best environment for me, but what I would eventually come to realize is that it went against any sort of stereotypes and stigmas attached to Christian affiliated private schools. I needed a change of scenery for myself, so my parents and I mutually decided to put me into the public school system.

The biggest difference for me transferring from a college prep little religious private school to a mainstream government run public school was that I didn’t have to fit into this little mold I was raised in.  Freedom is a blessing, but it can be abused and twisted if dealt with carelessly. I arrive at this tiny little building in a town at the time I perceived to be “Hicksville,” and this school looks like a prison!  At this point I’m already dealing with nerves about meeting people who don’t believe the same things I do, but now on top of that, I have to stare at windows with bars on them every day for the next year.  Public school turned out to be less horrifying then I imagined.  The people I once thought were edgy and freaky became my closest friends and I could wrap my head around the material in the classroom that if taught at my old school would be over my head and lost by the next class period if not sooner.  I experienced many new things both good and bad.  For the first time in my life I did have to deal with bullies, which was difficult and was difficult for next few years, but I got to express myself in a way that I never could before.  As I began to go through the public school system my parents saw a change they weren’t too comfortable with, in my behavior and my opinions, so it was decided much to my disagreement that I transfer to another private school my junior year

This school was most defiantly the click oriented what you would see in the media version of private school. It also didn’t help that I came from public school, which apparently is considered everything bad in the world wrapped in to one building. I wasn’t too worried about this because I had already destigmatized private school to public schoolers with my behavior so I just had to do the same with this new group of peers. Bullying was worse, the teachers played favorites, and the faculty was wishy-washy.  It was a hard year for me and led to a lot of personal struggles.  Thankfully some friends of my family talked to my parents about switching to online school.

I don’t have much to say about it since it’s so early in the year, but what I can say about iUniversity Prep  is that I wish I had done it sooner in my academic career.  The teachers aren’t only concerned about me academically, but also on a human personal level. The fluidity and functionality of this school has destressed my life on a major level, and I’m finally at a place where I can be happy to do school and to be successful.  For anyone reading this who is struggling personally or academically,  there is a definite hope that everything works out for the better if you can stick it out and try to actively change what’s not working.