A Choice, a Consequence, and an Understanding
In the summer of 2014, I moved to Westfield, Indiana and attended eighth grade year at Our Lady of Mount Carmel. I met plenty of new people, but the year had ended before any lasting connections were made. Before the end our release from middle school, the hot topic was, “Where are you going next year?” I had no idea which high school to choose. There are many different and quality schools in Indiana. One that didn’t sit well with me was the Westfield High School. The trimester layout and the six classes per day only an hour each was not proficient to my idea of high school. Amid my search outside of Westfield, I found Carmel High School.
It was almost time to start freshman year, but multiple problems started to arise. First off, my family still lived in Westfield. Secondly, I did not feel ready to commit to a high school surrounded with over 5000 students enrolled. My dad though it best to delay High School for a year and be homeschooled. This would give myself a chance to mature, but also give us another years time to find a house in Carmel. It would be my first and only time ever getting homeschooled. Sitting in front of a computer all day is monotonous. Even worse was witnessing all of my friends go onto to high school from OLMC without me; I would be friendless. My parents started to get worried about me. Besides wrestling and woodworking, my life had become pretty depressing. Apparel started to not phase me because I never left home and the food became bland. That year became pretty lonesome, until one day my parents came home with a new found friend. My mother said, “This is Bruno, a purebred collie.” The first thing I noticed about him was his fruity smell and his fluffy fur. The second observation was his energy. We played everyday and my life immediately became better. I taught him how to do all sorts of tricks plus how to play fetch. Bruno goes crazy over squeaky toys. If I don’t play with him at least once a day he either moans or barks at me, because he wants to have fun.
Before I knew it Freshman year, for real this time, was right around the corner. There was just one dilemma. I would not know anybody in a school with 5000 kids. Sure, there would be a few kids from OLMC, but they were all now a grade above me. It was fairly odd. Wrestling in preseason was my only ticket to having a head start on the first day. Friendships were immediately made. I honestly didn’t care if they were seniors or other freshman, at least I met people on common grounds.
The first day of school had come just as all the others previously. However, this year was the most difficult of them all. The hallways were overloaded. Everyone had on too much cologne. It was even worse when I was pushed against someone that wasn’t wearing any form of deodorant. The smell was repulsive. In a school of 5,000 students it was almost impossible to spot anyone I knew. Day one went by, students enrolled 5,000, number of friends in classes 0. The same thing happened on day 2, but even worse than not knowing anyone in your classes is not knowing who is in your lunch. Freshman cafeteria is hectic. People are yelling, food is scattered on the floor everywhere. Yet, I was sitting at lonesome table. It was not until about day 5 in which I found a group of people to sit with at lunch. As the year progressed I made more connections with people whom I believed I could finally feel open too. People found out who I was. Surprisingly, freshman year wasn’t so bad after all.
However, the truth was, I still hadn’t cracked open my shell to anyone. I conversed with all my different friend groups; we all made useless promises to still talk to one another over the summer. Of course I talked to some of my friends over the summer. Nevertheless, I was still unsatisfied. Before summer was let out, my dad told me that we were going on a trip to Wyoming. I muttered, “How am I going to be happy without my friends with me.”
He told me, “The friendships you make now have meaning, but what will happen after High School. Friends will come and go, but family will last forever.” That’s when it hit me. When we moved from city to city or even between states, who was there by my side the whole time? My family. The wyoming trip was great. Bonding with my family was even better. No summer prior could have been more interesting. The bonding within the family became permanent. We now spend time with one another more frequently. When I am not busy with homework or wrestling, I am usually chatting with my siblings. If we are not laughing at one another’s jokes, then we are singing along to the latest song on the radio. We have become so fond of one another that when watching television in the basement, it is easy to differentiate who is walking on the main floor or down the steps. Any time one of us has a question, our full attention turns towards answering it. I now have relationships to count on and people whom I find reliable.
The choice I made to get held back was life changing. The consequence of loosing friends and having to make new ones, eventually led to my understanding of the importance of family.
