Recently I decided to change my major and what college I was in. With this process many more changes happened for me.
I decided to go into the dorms this last semester and to give them another shot. I also was new to a cohort of students who had already known each other for awhile before I joined them. Bonds had already been created and I felt as if I was the odd ball out.
A semester later and I’m back in my hometown community living and attending another branch of UK’s campus. Here I joined a smaller cohort than the one I had been in before. This one is a one-eighth of the one I had left making me feel as if I was intruding. Due to my past school experiences and what I knew to expect I feared the worst. I had heard that the new kid is always bullied or secluded and made miserable. I had thought that this experiences would be all the stigmas I had ever heard about this type of experience. Boy was I wrong.
Joining this new cohort was a amazing experience. I was welcomed with open arms and these people acted as if I had been there the entire time. Not only this but they were there for me if I had any questions to ask, if there was anything I was not fairly sure about in the building, or policies in the area. These people seem to be like a very small close knit family and I am grateful to get to join such a close knit group.
So instead of fearing the worse when becoming the new kid, take it with stride because honestly it’s not as bad as movies make it out to be. No one is going to shove you in a locker, closet or the toilet. People are not going to make fun of you for being yourself and they will help you to be yourself in ways you wouldn’t normally imagine. These people can be the influencers of the things that shape your future by pushing you outside of your shell.