On a late hot August day, the clocks hands slightly past eight, the sun only just beginning its journey towards it place in the sky, I stood on the blistering blacktop of Nodland Elementary for the first time. With my brand new school clothes, my long hair swept across my back, and my “101 Dalmatian” puppy shaped backpack strapped across my shoulders I was on my way to the big world of Nodland Elementary. Ready to meet the teacher, color with my brand new crayons for the first time and try to get through the day without a nap. Yet, none of that was as important as meeting my classmates; the people I would spend the rest of my school career with for the next thirteen years. I felt ready, but I still held on to my dad’s hand.

Like a baby eaglet not sure if the time to leave the nest, I clung to my father. Always the braver one, yet unsure for the first time I stayed with the only person I knew, my father. I knew I looked like a daddy’s girl, clutching his hand. Nevertheless, the kids running and screaming around us looked intimidating.

We walked closer and closer to the corner, which would take me to the world of kindergarten. Not before we reached the corner to my new world, a girl with her mother stood before us. I started to study her, to understand this new person. With short dark hair and big eyes, she looked different then me, yet we held the same expression; a mix of fear, excitement, and wonder.

My father talked to her mother and then started to talk to me,
“This is Makayla, the girl that lives in the blue house across the street. She is going to be in your class.” I looked at this girl, this Makayla, to see that her mother was telling her something similar.
“Hello.” We said to one another small shy smiles spreading across our faces. Then we started walking around the corner, but this time with smiles and a new friend to face the big world of kindergarten with one more friend.