I had braved a year of high school and when it started again, I am ready. After two weeks, I am used to the hustle-bustle of students getting to classes. I can practically navigate the school with my eyes closed and my hands tied behind my back. I’m ready for anything.

It’s great seeing my old friends again as a sophomore, and not worrying about being a freshman anymore. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t very nice to the freshmen on their first day. I rolled my eyes when they came to school dressed in white polos and dark pants and muttered, “Freshmen,” in a disgusted tone of voice.

But then, in my Earth Science class, I met a timid girl who was in the back and said little. We ended up being lab partners, and we sat together as we learned how to use longitude and latitude for what seemed the millionth time. After helping each other with the problems in our packets, we walked together since we were taking the same train.

She asked if I was a freshman. I said, “No way. I’m a sophomore. How about you? You’re a sophomore, right?”

I was shocked when she said, rather shyly, “Naw. I’m a freshman. I just started here.”

At that moment I looked right into her eyes. When I first talked to her, I thought she had reminded me of someone. And at that moment when I met her eyes, it hit me. She reminded me of me when I started just a year ago.

She told me her problems. She was a freshman who was quiet and had no friends. They had all either transferred, or were older and had graduated. Again I saw our similarity. I, too, had no friends when I started last year, and I, too, had been a lonely, angry train wreck.

“You’re the only one who’s really talked to me, you know,” she told me as we walked downstairs to the train. “Everyone just ignores me.”

Another similarity.

After talking to her, I looked at the other freshmen differently. Now she’s my friend, and I tell her all about school and what to expect. I help her the best I can - especially because I didn’t have that help last year.

So, fellow sophomores, juniors, and seniors, if you happen to see a timid freshman looking lost in the hallways, don’t just stand there and laugh. Help him, because one, two, maybe three years ago, you were that little lost freshman.