My Life Changing Link

I first started at Webster Hill Elementary School, a local public school near my house. It was great because I could walk to school and all the kids from my neighborhood went there. Then in the middle of my third grade year, a boy in my class wrote a "death note" to me in his journal. I have no idea why and neither did the school. The problem wasn't necessarily what the boy wrote, for he was only 8 years old. My parents had an issue with how the school handled the situation; the teacher never told my parents about it because the school was going to pretend it had never happened. As a third grader, I didn't really know what was going on/couldn't care less. All I cared about was the fact that my parents were going to transfer me to Renbrook School, in the middle of the school year. I cried for days because I didn't want to leave my friends behind.

It's never easy being the new kid, especially when I had to start in January, but luckily I joined a community that was so welcoming and kind. I became so close to the people there, I chose to stay at Renbrook for my 9th grade year. After being there for 5 or more years, some kids were just dying to leave but I made the best decision by staying freshman year. Renbrook prepared me to be confident enough to take on boarding school in Maryland, my sophomore year.

Saint James is an Episcopal School in Hagerstown, Maryland, that has grades 8-12, yet only 210 students. This small community led to strong relationships between all students and many teachers, but the person closest to you was most likely your roommate. As a new kid, I had a random roommate picked out for me who was also new. We got along well and helped each other out with our classes which was great. I thought I had really lucked out with my roommate, but she started telling me things about her personal life and experiences at her old school, that seemed terrifying to me. She came to Saint James with 14 holes on her arm. She tried to tell everyone they were infected bug bites, when everyone really knew that they were cigarette burns. I felt bad for her and really did care about her, so when I noticed she had new marks on her arms I knew something was up. I couldn't just watch my roommate burn herself, so I went to the guidance counselor. This was a difficult decision for me to make because my roommate ended up getting expelled within the 1st month. It was a lot for me to go through, especially when I was just trying to adjust to the school myself, but everything turned around when my best friend, who was a day student, became my new roommate.

I have never been closer to anyone and she has become a sister to me. Everyone at Saint James is like family to me, but the 6 hour drive home became too much. I got homesick because most of the students at Saint James lived within a 2 hour radius and could go home on the weekends. I realized that my family is too important to be away from since college is right around the corner. Which is what brought me to Kingswood Oxford School, in my hometown.

I am so grateful to be where I am today. One journal entry by a little boy changed my whole life and I thank him for that.