The change from being a child to becoming a pre-teen is a very awkward one. Teenagers usually live to fulfill one goal, and that is to become socially accepted. Social acceptance is probably one of the hardest tasks for a teenager to accomplish. When I first moved to Germantown, it was hard for me to get along with the crowd. In my old neighborhood, I had known everyone since kindergarten, so I had no need to create new friends. I had everyone with me from the start. What made it even harder was that everyone had their own cliques, and they didn't want to seem different by befriending the new guy. In middle school, popularity was based on how much fun you could make of another person, a newcomer couldn't make fun of anyone. In fact, they were the easiest targets. .
I was always the class clown in my previous neighborhood. Being a loud, comedic kid, I drew attention to myself quite easily. But it was different in the new area. It wasn't as easy as it was before. I always had someone to turn to in my old neighborhood. There would always be at least one person that I knew. I became very quiet in response to this new environment. I found myself just being a recluse, sitting and observing. Slowly I started to conform to the "norm" of the new school by dressing differently and acting as other did. It was a very lonely period of time. All those years of having close friends, and then suddenly they all get ripped away. I was thrown into these new surroundings to fend for myself. It took time, but slowly, and surely I gained friends so the impact of high school the following year wasn't as great. .
This situation does not bother me any more. There is no reason for me to feel left out any longer. I've known almost everyone for the last four years, as well as being a senior I have no cause to be shy any longer. I have nothing to lose, I could make myself appear as a complete fool, and it wouldn't affect me because after this year I"m done.
