Moving to a new school at the beginning of my junior year was not what I had planned for my high school journey. It was scary. Leaving behind the friends I had been with since kindergarten, having to meet new people and having to adjust to a new school was something I never imagined I would experience. 

I did it for my brother, Max, who has Cerebral Palsy and is completely deaf. As an incoming freshman, he was nervous to attend Atascocita High School because of the size of the campus and the number of students. My mom suggested that we transfer to Kingwood Park and although I was hesitant, I knew it would be the best option for him. 

The first few weeks were okay because of online school. When we finally went back to in person classes, I remember being so nervous. I was in the process of getting my license so the stress of being a new driver was adding onto what I was already feeling from being in a completely different environment. 

I was most scared to make new friends. I had this insane fear that nobody would talk to me and I would be a loner for the whole year and maybe the rest of high school. Thankfully, this was not true. I made friends in each class and soon enough, I realized that KPark wasn’t going to be bad at all. Now at the end of my senior year, I have a forever friend group.

One person in that friend group, Kathleen Ortiz, impacted me the most during my time at KPark. We met in sixth period pre-cal during our junior year. I complimented her Taylor Swift shirt and we became quick friends. We started a Swiftie podcast together and because of that, she convinced me to join journalism. This small act of talking me into doing something I never would have considered kind of changed my life.

I have always been a relatively closed off person. When I’m around people I know and love, I’m able to open up but when it comes to people I don’t know, I have a tendency to stay silent. Joining journalism was honestly something I never pictured myself doing. I love writing but the idea of interviewing people I don’t know and then creating a story about them was a terrifying thought. 

The first few weeks, I was hesitant to take on projects. I was scared I would do it wrong and the story would suck. Mrs. Ortiz and Kathleen were really helpful and they always encouraged me. As time went on, I got more comfortable. I learned how to shoot photos, I interviewed countless people and I wrote so many stories. I fell in love with journalism this year and I couldn’t be happier about it. 

In the fall, I will be attending Texas State University and I plan to major in journalism. The thing I used to be intimidated by is now going to be my future career and I don’t think it’s possible for me to be any more excited. 

As I look back on my time at both AHS and KPark, I am able to confidently say that transferring was the best decision I have ever made. I feel as if I truly found myself during my two years at KPark and without the journalism program, I don’t think it would have been possible.