Clinging to kindness

       Throughout elementary school, I saw the world vividly through playground scrapes, gold stars, and the distinct difference between a 16 pack of crayons and a 24 pack. Even then I always had a much larger fascination with adults; a friendship with a 48-year-old was much higher on the scale than the germy kids I shared my glue stick with. Yet, I adapted to being slightly okay with my fellow classmates, learning how fun it was to let my imagination run wild. 

     One thing that progressed as I reached high school was how much more things began to matter, our imaginations began to fade and a shadow of doubt and judgement was placed at my feet with almost no warning. 

     Yet, I stepped into the doors at North Harford High School with ambition and optimism, imagining Winnie the Pooh with a perfect butterfly placed upon his soft nose, sniffling and quoting my favorite phrase, “to become a butterfly you must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar.”

      The tears, textbooks, and trepidations that high school entails have shaped me into the person I know I will carry along being for the rest of my life. The truth is, no matter how kind you are, it is inevitable there will be a handful of people that will try to bring you down.  

     My first tip is to use this to your advantage. When faced with adversity, you are given
a hint about that individual’s character, once you harness the root of their actions, these actions have a much smaller impact on you. 

     Second, be yourself, no matter what status it grants you.  Being comfortable in your own skin will come hand in hand with gathering the core friends and success throughout these four years. My mom has told me throughout my entire life that in terms of friendships, quality always outweighs quantity, and that little piece of advice has been proven true throughout every single second of heartbreak and betrayal. The ones that are meant to stay in your life will. I’ve always found myself to get quieter as I get older because high school demonstrated to me in the boldest letters it possibly could that the less you talk the more you are able to hear. Not just in the classroom, trust me talking is an extremely vital aspect to learning, but in terms of surviving around teenagers, silent observation is key. 

     Third and most important, kindness always wins. No matter how small you may feel, your actions can affect others in ways you can’t comprehend. To me it didn’t matter if my student ranking was highest, or if my SAT score was enough to get into Harvard, or if I joined the most extracurriculars, it was simply to make others feel wanted and accepted.  Everyone is granted the right to choose the type of person he/she wants to be;  I wanted to be someone that made others feel hopeful and full of light as I wished to feel stepping into those huge glass doors as a little freshman, oblivious to the friends, passions, and happiness high school would bring to my life. As you may be heading into your first or even last year at North Harford I ask you to spread as much joy and appreciation to your teachers and peers as you possibly can because it matters not your status, popularity, or ranking, but the way you make others feel. One smile can change someone’s life, and if you don’t believe me, try it.