My school career has been atypical to say the least. I advanced a grade (skipping 8th) and went into high school early. I’d have to say it’s not for everyone, but I’m lucky that I had friends in the grade I was headed into and met them before entering high school. Nevertheless, my time here has been nothing short of great. The experiences that I’ve had all four years here have been incredible to say the least, and I’m so glad that I got involved in things earlier rather than later.
Reflecting on my experiences here, I’m happy with the way most of it turned out. My freshman year was impacted by COVID, which made developing connections with classmates and staff more difficult. Although I had friends I was close to, COVID prevented me from hanging out with them and getting to know them better, which contributed to some of the struggles of my early high school years. Once COVID cleared up, I got much closer to my friends and got to know a lot of my classmates and teachers more than I previously had. I also got more involved after that, and working with the staff and peers on extracurriculars has been a wonderful time.
Despite coming to high school knowing almost nobody, getting involved changed that significantly. Renaissance, a club open to freshmen (at the end of the school year) and older, got me involved with making the Renaissance rallies, which has been a fantastic time despite the challenges in script writing and overcoming the fear of public speaking. Renaissance is a great spot to be if you’re not sure where you want to be. It’s a club that helps build you into a great leader with the skills you have, and helps you show school spirit and build that spirit in others (and there’s free t-shirts!)
Being involved in Renaissance opened up the doors for so many other leadership opportunities, too. Leadership Retreat, which I’ve been a leader for twice, has been a phenomenal experience every year and it’s great to be able to empower the underclassmen to become leaders as did I. Getting involved has gotten me closer to the staff here, too. Every single person you’ll meet here wants to help you succeed and be the greatest you can be, and being involved will help you accomplish what you hope to do in high school.
Looking back, advancing a grade isn’t something I’d ever reconsider, and the experiences and people that I’ve had and met here have been something that I’ll always look back on fondly.
Written By: Nathan Schlachter, HBRHS Student