Coming of Age Final Draft

Trying something new can always be difficult. We fear the notion of being judged and being rejected by the standards set by society. But sometimes, the want to meet these standards can hinder us from accomplishing what we should and achieving true happiness. I feel that I have experienced this predicament first hand. And although it was difficult for me stop having this "impress everyone" type of thinking, I feel that I was able to overcome it and mature. My life before high school was much easier and less independent that what it is now. Everything was done for me. All I ever worried about was the latest toy, or the newest cartoon. I never really cared about my social nor academic successes. But eventually moving to high school, i began to become very thoughtful of my 4 year journey. But I never realized how I really felt about trying something new. 

As my first day of high school began, I was worried about making friends. I was worried about how I looked, where I would hang out, and most of all, others perspective and judgment of myself. As we all know, high school is a very diverse community filled with many different cultures and beliefs, especially at this particular high school. This truth frightened me. I came from a very small middle school. It was one class per grade, and everyone knew each other. Also, we had to wear uniforms. So basically, I didn’t have to worry about impressing anyone because we all look the same, and we all had something in common. Now, here at a public school with 10 times more people than my old school, anyone is subjected to different opinions. I felt that if I didn't dress or speak a certain way like how others did, then I wouldn't be accepted in the community I wanted to be part of. This mentality often affected my school wide participation and also my outgoingness toward activities out of my comfort zone. It made me more timid as a person. Therefore, I went through my first days or so just with nothing. I was afraid that if I tried something new and I wasn't good at it, then others around the school would look down upon me.

More and more days passed, and nothing changed. But I started to realize something. I noticed that no matter how nerdy someone was or how weird I thought they were, they always had friends and people to laugh and have fun with. They never seemed mopey nor unhappy. They seemed to be enjoying their time in high school. Later that week at a ministry for youth that my church held, the instructors spoke about the diversity of high school and finding true friends. Their lessons taught me that true friends accept you for who you are. And adding to that, they share beliefs and interests with you. I soon started to realize that maybe if I tried being myself, then friends that accepted me would come along. This ideal took a lot of getting used to. As the school year went on, I started to become more comfortable with my environment and the people in it. I started to be more outgoing and less afraid. I talked to people I didn’t quite know, I answered in class activities that I normally wouldn’t participate in. I also considered being in activities such as sports that i would have never done. I began to be myself once again.

Toward the ending of the school year was where I really broke out of my shell. This is when I decided to join the sport of football. Now, this may not seem like much, but I feel that this is when I really started to become a little more apathetic, in a good way. I have never played football before, ever, and I knew that compared to all the other sports I participated in, it was the most rough and the most physical. But for some reason, I had the urge to try it. This taught me the meaning of true friends. Everyone accepted each other, no matter how different they were, they all shared a common interest, football. And I think this is what drew me so much to join. Because I knew that I would be able to talk to other people. As I began to hang out with the team, I began to care less of what others thought. I began to like high school, and most of all, I began to act as myself. I was no longer trying to impress everyone, for I knew that I no longer had to. I feel that I grew and became more matured. I no longer cared about how others thought of me, whether they accepted me or not. I learned to stop trying to impress everyone that really have nothing in common with me. I learned that if i act as myself, then everything will fall into place, such as friends, school and sports.


This event taught me the trait of apathy, or not caring. In some cases, it could be a not so good trait to have. But in another way, it can help you. It helped me to become more outgoing and to care less of society's standards. It helped me to realize what true friends are and who they were around me. And most of all, it taught me to not care... to not care of others judgment. I feel that is have made high school a more enjoyable place for me. And I feel that i have matured. In the near future, i won't be afraid to try new things. I will work for what makes me happy, and not worry of what others think of it.