From my experience of going to a Catholic school for nine years and then moving up to the high school, I learned that I will be faced with many challenges in my life. One event can make a tremendous impact on your life and change it forever. Even the littlest thing can make the biggest difference, no matter what you might think.

I went from a class of only eleven or twelve up until eighth grade, to a class of over 400 by the time I will graduate in 2015. I never really mentally or physically prepared myself for what I was up against two short years ago. The very first day of my high school experience, I walked into the building with all these great expectations and thoughts like, “I’m going to do so great,” or “I know where I’m going.” Until… I walked out of the SAC into the halls. I was completely lost and had no clue what move to make next. I looked puzzled and lost, I’m sure, to many of the older students. It took me a few days to remember where my classes were and how I needed to get there.

One of my worst fears was lunch. Who was in my lunch? Would I have to sit alone? I wasn’t really sure how lunch even worked. I was used to a teacher yelling in our tiny lunch room saying, “Lets go! Line up!” and everyone having the same lunch time. Now I had to get used to the fact that there were bells before you could change a classes during mods. Another worry that I had was if I would make it to class on time with the four minutes given to us.
To me, this transition might have been my biggest and toughest one yet. In Catholic school the teachers and staff keep you very sheltered and protected. They make sure all your work is done on time, handed in, and you don’t fool around with anything. They make sure you get all the attention and extra help you need, while in public school, the teachers have ten times as many students and the class size is so much larger, so you aren’t as able to get that.

I have learned the many ups and downs of friendships as well. Some may grow apart and others get as close as they’ve ever been. You might also find yourself meeting and becoming friends with people you never imagined yourself even talking to. I’ve traveled the path of good and bad friendships, and even lost some of those that were most important to me. I know I am always able to count on my one very true friend, Kenzie. She has been there for me through everything. I can tell her anything, just like you should be able to with true friends.

With time, we all make our mistakes and eventually learn from them. It might take a few tries, but we will always learn. We will face difficult decisions throughout our whole life, and it’s whether or not we decide right for us. Every decision we make can either make or break us.