For nine years, I spent every waking moment of my life on the campus of Red Lick ISD. I had to leave the place where I grew up, made lifelong friends, grew my knowledge and learned the values of a community with heart. It felt like leaving the place that molded me into who I am today would be impossible, yet inevitable. 

Everyone in my class had thought about the choice of highschool for months. We toured schools in the area and all had some idea of where to go. Both my siblings had gone to Pleasant Grove, but something about the atmosphere didn’t feel right to me. Texas High, however, had a sense of new beginnings and raised curiosity within me. 

I graduated from Red Lick, and the time came for me to start Freshman year at Texas High. I have never been more nervous in my life. New School, new people, new grade, new everything. I went from a place like Red Lick, the school with 39 kids in the eighth grade, one hallway, a paper-thin yearbook and having my mom on campus at all times, to a place like Texas High, the school with 2,000 students, endless hallways and every extracurricular you could think of.

My life had flipped upside down. I now had five classes a day instead of seven, different classes each day, one class with someone I knew and a resting heart rate of 160 bpm. The weirdest part of it all was that my work became infinitely easier. I’d never realized the pressure that Red Lick put on me. I did exceptionally well in all my classes, and some teachers even asked me if I came from Red Lick. I was average there, above average here.

I made straight A’s throughout the year, with a 4.1 GPA and ranked 16/508. When I attended Red Lick, my life felt simple. At Texas High, it was another level of simple… or so I thought. With easier classes came more responsibility for other things, more independence and less valid excuses. I no longer had someone to hold my hand. Now, I had to walk a tightrope with roller skates on.

Over time, my work ethic dwindled due to my lack of accountability, and my stress levels shot through the roof. How could a school with easier classes stress me out more? 

The differences between Red Lick and Texas High really took a toll on me. Over time I got used to it, and now the thought of Red Lick’s schedules and ways of doing things seems wrong to me. My once home is now strange, and what was a new, terrifying beginning is now what I consider the best decision I’ve ever made.