Member-only story
My Ten-Year High School Reunion is Coming Up…
Graduating ten years ago doesn’t make me feel old (though it probably should). It makes me feel mature because I can see how much I have grown in the past ten years. I want to go to my ten-year high school reunion because I want to see how my friends have also grown and changed throughout the years. It’s a sentiment I only recently started feeling.
When I graduated high school, I was at one of the lowest points of my life. I struggled with an eating disorder, anxiety, and self-worth as a result of my four years of secondary education. The exact opposite of when I started. In middle school, I was confident, outgoing, and energetic.
So what happened? Confidence doesn’t translate to self-worth. Extroverted doesn’t mean you can’t get hurt. Energetic doesn’t mean you don’t get worn out. The circumstances and trials of high school beat those qualities out of me until I was introverted, self-conscious, and quiet.
In high school, I tried so hard to fit in that I ended up coming off as weird and awkward. That set up my whole high school career. I was so focused on what other people thought of me that I forgot to be myself. I didn’t have the self-worth to do what I wanted to do.
