Pushing Outside Your Comfort Zone
Hello, my name is Kristopher Saavedra, I am part of the senior class of 2023 and I am about to graduate. I attended Albert Lea high school from 9th grade till now. For me, 9th grade was a very lonely time, mainly because I had recently moved to Minnesota. It was hard for me to fit in because I was very shy and introverted. I was never able to talk to anyone because I was scared of bothering people. 9th grade was a very troubling time and whenever I think back on it, the first memory that comes to mind is of me sitting alone in the lunchroom on my phone. I felt lost and alone my freshman year of high school, and my sophomore year wasn’t that different. 10th grade felt way longer than 9th grade, but that’s because quarantine lasted for way longer than anyone expected. My feelings for 10th grade are similar to that of 9th grade, the only difference was I didn’t feel as alone. I was able to get in touch with my old friend from middle school, and it was great to have some kind of social interaction. Hanging out with my friends was able to take my mind off of what was going on in the world.
11th grade was one of the more outstanding years of high school. I made an effort to be more expressive and attempted to push myself out of my comfort zone when I got the chance. 11th grade was also the year I was able to meet new people I was comfortable with calling friends. I like to think my junior year was the time I became more open to the idea of being myself in public. While I was still pretty shy, I had the confidence to be more open than I was in 9th grade. Now that my 12th grade year is soon coming to an end, I can confidently say that senior year was the best year out of all my years in high school. I am the most confident that I have ever been and have done stuff I wouldn’t even have dared to do at the start of high school. Having looked back at my entire high school experience I have seen how much I have grown from being the shy new kid I was in the beginning. Recently I have decided which school to go to after high school and I feel ready. While I don’t feel confident in certain aspects of college life, I know things are going to be fine and I’ll get through every problem life throws at me.