While preparing for the next chapter of my life, I have spent a lot of time reflecting on how my time at Prosper High School has affected me and helped me to grow. At PHS, my relationships with friends, teachers and staff have given me so much knowledge that I plan to take with me to the University of Oklahoma in the fall, and all of my other future endeavors.  

When I moved to Prosper in 2019, I honestly had a very dull outlook on how high school would go. I was moving into a new school with no friends, no connections and no established relationships. I remember lunch on the first day of school, watching everyone else flock to their friends that they’ve known for years, as I tried to find a spot with good wi-fi so I could text my friends from my old school. 

Of course, I was being a little dramatic. As the days went by, I started to talk to people in my classes, I soon found people to sit with at lunch, and I quickly realized that feeling of loneliness and isolation was only temporary. All of the friends I made introduced me to their friends, and I joined and created so many new friends groups, which gave me a lot of hope for how my high school experience would go. 

Same as the rest of my graduating class, my freshman year was suddenly interrupted by quarantines and lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and like some of my peers, I continued doing classes online until the end of sophomore year. During that time I only kept in touch with a few of my close friends, which I appreciated, but I’ve always thrived on community and it was a struggle to be taken away from that.

When I returned to PHS I experienced a similar feeling of loneliness. My friends were not in most of my classes so I didn’t have many people to talk to. It felt like freshman year all over again. But of course, as was the case freshman year, I made new friends and built new relationships. Now, in my senior year, I feel closer with more people than ever.

As I have been getting ready to continue my academic career in college at a new school in a new environment, I have felt those same anxieties about making friends and meeting people as I felt going into my freshman year of high school. But, one of the most important things that PHS has taught me is that it is possible to find your people anywhere. 

Entering a new space often comes with a lot of uneasiness about finding a group where you can feel comfortable being yourself. But my time in high school has given me confidence that as I am going out into the world, I will be able to find or create a network of people who I feel comfortable with and I can enjoy my time with.