By Aaron Rhyne
I remember dreading my first day of high school. Most of my friends were going to Prospect, and I felt like I was going into high school alone. Going to my classes the first few weeks, I noticed that most people at Westmont had gone to Rolling Hills, and they already knew everyone else and just brought over their friend groups from middle school. This made me feel even more isolated, as I hung out with the few remaining people who went to Moreland, most of whom I had never spoken to before. I thought this feeling of isolation would last forever, and I started to hate high school.
However, as the year went on, I started to meet more people and make new friends. By the end of freshman year, I had a new group of friends and was beginning to find my place at Westmont. As sophomore year rolled around, I actually began to look forward to school starting. I met more people in Ashleigh Tighe’s English Honors class and in James Marshall’s AP World History class, and I started to enjoy going to school. I knew that when I went there would be people there whom I enjoyed hanging out with, and I could call my friends.
But the biggest help in escaping isolation came from joining Track and Field. I found a group of people who enjoyed similar activities to me and made so many memories both at practices and at meets that will stay with me the rest of my life. Track helped me so much through my junior year, breaking up the monotonous hours of studying and homework that came with my third year of high school. It was a place where I could forget about everything else around me, and it also allowed me to meet friends who were Seniors at the time. I learned so much from them, such as the best ways to study for AP Lang with Chris Haskett, and how to navigate the world of college admissions. Junior year was also when I got my driver’s license, and I started to feel a growing sense of independence and individuality.
Everything culminated in my final year at Westmont. Finally, as a senior, I looked back on my past self and felt proud that I had fought off the isolationism I feared so much in freshman year, turning it into independence. At track, I became the mentor to the juniors and underclassmen that I had been when I was a junior. I got to pass on the advice given to me by previous seniors like Evan Johiro, Alex Wu, Gavin Lam, and Youyi Ding, as well as all of my inspiring teachers at Westmont.
One piece of advice I heard from virtually everyone, though, was to enjoy high school while it lasts. These past few years felt like they went by in the blink of an eye, and I wish I could have told freshman year Aaron that his next four years would be some of the best in his life. So to anyone new at Westmont, just know that when someone tells you to take the time and enjoy life as a high schooler before it’s over, make sure you listen to them, because it only gets better from here.