Support for the New Kid
By Katelyn Braun
In November of this school year, I transferred to Sebastian River High School. I was terrified because I was moving to a new school in a new state in the middle of the semester. I didn’t know the town, I didn’t know the school, and the scariest part was, I didn’t know the people.
The school had a completely different schedule than I was used to, and the campus was a whole lot bigger. A lot bigger meant a lot more people—people who I was afraid were going to judge me. I was, after all, the new girl. I was shaking from the anxiety of it all.
The first person that made me feel comfortable was my Creative Writing teacher, Mrs. Beth Braaksma. She introduced herself to me but didn’t try to pry on my situation or introduce me to everyone.
The one thing she did was introduce me to my first friend here, a girl named Chelsey who essentially saved me from all the awkward situations I would have had to face as the new kid on campus that day, like where to sit at lunchtime and who to talk to in class.
I ended up having a couple of classes with Chelsey, and she introduced me to many of the friends I have now. Mrs. Braaksma has also been one of the people to keep me motivated by pushing me to do my best in class and being supportive when I didn’t quite do the greatest. She has been the person to keep me from slipping too far off track, which I greatly appreciate.
With the help of her and Chelsey, I made it through my first day, but the second day was a whole new set of challenges. With block scheduling in place, there would be all new teachers, subjects, and classmates again. This time it was my culinary teacher, Mr. Eric Boscovich, or Mr. Bosco as we call him, who helped me put my fears aside.
Mr. Bosco is one of my favorite teachers. I can talk to him to when I’m feeling overwhelmed, and he gives great advice when I’m having a problem. He’s also one of the people that keeps me from holing up in my room. He hosts banquets and we happily volunteer.
Moving is tremendously hard when you are young and must switch schools. Sebastian River High School, its teachers, and its students all made me feel a little less homesick this year.
The people I have met here still help me every day. I’m happy to be a Sebastian River Shark. Even as the new kid, I have people to talk to and people to hang out with. I enjoy going to my classes (most of them anyway) and I can honestly say that I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
