Ever since I started high school, I dreaded the day I would have to deliver this speech. Even just thinking about speaking in front of the whole school made me sweat because of the shy person that I am. But here I am, a senior in highschool, giving the speech that I have feared for so long. Which is exactly why I am going to play it safe, and answer the exact same questions every other senior has answered in their speech. How did I get here? How did I get through on-line schooling? And most importantly, how did Rolling Hills Prep shape me into the person that stands before you all today?
Before I transferred to Rolling Hills Prep in 8th grade, I was a lost middle schooler roaming a big public middle school campus. From a young age I have struggled with learning differences. And, unfortunately, the learning center at the previous school was no help. Instead of giving us homework assistance, they slapped a study skills textbook from the 70’s in front of us and gave us additional assignments. My parents noticed that I was starting to struggle academically in this large, impersonal middle school and decided to send me to Rolling Hills Prep in 8th grade. I fought with them about this, because I didn’t want to leave my friends at middle school and go to a completely new place. Since I am standing before you today, I think we all know who won that fight.
For my first few days of RHP, I was again lost, wandering a new campus with new people wondering where I fit in. I struggled to get used to the small class sizes. For a kid who was used to sitting in the back of the class where I would never get called on, it was a rude awakening to have to sit in a class with only eight people where I couldn’t hide. However, as the days went on, I started to notice some positive changes in myself. I started to build a core group of friends and found myself thriving in the small classes.
Another benefit of attending RHP was that I could utilize the ACE Program which served as a safety net for me academically. Unlike the public middle school support program, I found the help that I needed and met people who I am still friends with to this day in ACE as well. I found solutions to problems such as disorganization, improved my study skills, and got the accommodations that I needed. However, most importantly, my learning specialist not only understood me and my learning style perfectly, but also helped me learn more about myself as a student. Without ACE, I wouldn’t have the confidence to stand here and talk to you all today.
Because of the small classes, caring teachers, and the ACE Program, school was mostly sunshine and rainbows. But then when COVID hit, all of a sudden I was thrust into online learning where I was forced to rewrite school as I knew it. Many students didn’t know what to do, some teachers didn’t know what to do, and for the first few months of online learning, it was a mess. In my junior year, I started to fall into a little bit of a depression because I was unable to see my friends and go out and have new experiences. It took a toll on me academically as well, as I started to let assignments fall through the cracks and just generally started losing motivation to really try in school. As the year went on, Covid got worse, making it even harder to get back to the life I lived before COVID. I felt like I lost out on an entire year of possible experiences. Before COVID, I took hanging out with my friends, interfacing in person with teachers, and engaging in fun activities for granted. The isolation that we all faced during COVID, showed me the importance of my friendships. My own struggles with isolation made me more sympathetic to people who deal with these problems on an everyday basis. Even though my COVID experience was unpleasant, it taught me these valuable lessons.
Towards the end of my junior year, we finally got to get back to in-person school. When I learned we were going to come back I was ecstatic at the thought of returning to normal life in some form or another. I was surprised walking past people that I hadn’t seen for a year and a half. After having been isolated for far too long, I realized how lucky I was to be back at RHP. The simple activity of sitting at a lunch table with all my friends for the first time in what seemed like an eternity, took on a whole new meaning.
So now I’ve answered the three questions every other senior has answered. How did I get here? I was dragged here kicking and screaming, but in the end, I am glad I’m here. How did I get through online school? Good question, still figuring that out. And finally, how did RHP shape me into the person I am today? Being at RHP has given me a new appreciation for school, helped me understand myself, and connected me to people I will never forget. I will always value my friends, my teachers, ACE, and the family that is RHP.