June 8, 2016.

The day my life changed forever. My parents made the decision that they didn’t like my friends or the house we lived in. My two older brothers, younger sister and I, didn’t think we’d actually move because this topic was brought up before countless times, with no call to action. I started attending Arlington Martin High School, and after the first six weeks of school, my parents told me I would be transferring schools. Leaving my friends I grew to love, behind—without a chance to even say goodbye.

Coming to a new school would be difficult since I don’t make friends easily due to trust issues and my awkwardness. But being the only teenager who didn’t have a smartphone? It made me more different than everyone else, not even including being identified and stereotyped by my religion. I instantly felt excluded.

Every corner that I turned, I saw someone using their phones, constantly reminding me of what I didn’t have. My only friends, back at Arlington Martin, had no way of connecting with me. I wrote down everything I wanted to say, but couldn’t.

The constant reminders of my past took me to my all-time low. Every time I met someone new that would ask for my phone number or social media, I’d have to answer with “I don’t have a phone,” making them automatically assume I was bad news. People would ask what happened, and I had no response, because I, myself, didn’t know. Word spread that I was “that depressed girl with no phone” and I couldn’t deny it.

Nobody really understood me when I first came to Legacy. I always sat by myself during lunch. I slowly went through eight hours of school and barely talked. I developed the reputation of a loner, who had no friends and didn’t quite fit in. I still feel like I don’t sometimes. But I didn’t really mind much.

I thought maybe because I always looked mad, people didn’t want to approach me. Maybe my religion was apart of the reason people judged me before they knew me. I never thought much of it.

At my old school, I talked and laughed too much. Familiarity made me comfortable there.

I didn’t dread going to school. I didn’t have to think about which of my friends were real and which ones were fake. I didn’t have to think about skipping lunch on A-days because I didn’t want to sit alone. I didn’t have to think about whether my friends would be there for me when I needed them or not. I’m indecisive. I can’t choose what I want. But at least at my old school I knew which friends I could trust and love, and which ones I couldn’t.

I don’t think anybody really likes changes [with everything]. We like having the same table to sit at every A/B-day don’t we? We get used to something and usually stick with it for a while. But going through change every once in awhile will teach you things for the future. After all, once we graduate from high school, most of us go our separate ways. So maybe some practice would be good.

Although change is difficult, it will teach you many life lessons. I have adjusted to being at Legacy and now see this as my school. I’m proud to be a Bronco.