It was the summer break after 8th grade when I went to the mosque for some religious reason. After the event had happened, I got lunch with my friends and sat down. Everyone was talking about their next grade and I was kinda scared since I was going to be a freshman in high school and didn’t know much about it. Everyone was asking me how I feel and I said I feel excited but also nervous, and then a senior to be came and sat next to me and started talking to me about how it was like for her when she was freshman and how she dealt with some challenges, such being a muslim in gym class and wearing a hijab and covering the whole body while also following gym rules and participating in all activities and sports. I asked her if she is involved in any sports or clubs, and she said that she is the editor in chief of the school newspaper, and I was surprised and impressed and she encouraged me to join since it’s a fun and educational way to be a part of the school and I considered her suggestion. 2 months had passed and it was time for the open house for high school. I was excited to get my schedule and meet my teachers. I went to the school with my mom and I was the first one to be there and that was because my dad had to go to work so he dropped us an hour early, and so we waited and once everyone started coming in, I started to get nervous, and oh my god, the girls in high school are so tall, god, I’m really short. However, I wish I could change that, but anyways then they let us stroll around and meet our teachers and join some clubs we were interested in. They gave us a map of the school but it didn’t really help because the school was humongous and it was my first time using an actual map so I just asked the staff that were standing in the hallways. The first teacher I met was my Spanish teacher and his room all the way at the other side and end of the school so we had lots of walking to do but once I got there I got a bit scared and hid on the side of the wall but then he was nice and said come in, so my mom and I walked in. The first thing I learned about high school was that there is a mix of grades in all classes and some students might not be your age or from your grade. So, I asked him how many of each grade we had and he said we had mostly freshmen with some sophomores and a senior. I didn’t really know what to do with that information so I just said cool. He also asked me what middle school I went to and I said Tipler. Then we both said that it was a pleasure meeting each other and my mom and I left. Then I went to my English teacher and she was sweet, and there was another student, and his name was Romeo and she introduced me to him and told me that he will be in my class. I didn’t have any questions about the English honors so I just said see you soon and left. Then, I decided to go meet my social studies teacher, and he was pretty tall. I had to look up to look at him since he was standing. I asked what the class would be about since it was about world cultures so I was interested since I never had a class linked with cultures, it was mostly US history and geography. So, he told me that I will learn about religions, cultures, Asia, Africa, and America. So then I went to the O room which was one of the lunch rooms and that’s where all the club sign-ups were and I walked around and signed up for some and the one’s I signed up for Forensics, The Green Alarm, Bowling, and Equestrian. Afterwards, I decided to go meet my Phy ed teacher, and the room she was in was quite hard to find because it was in a corner. She was also really nice and just told me what I need to wear for gym. Then I went to go meet my physical science teacher, and she told me I needed to have a basic calculator for some basic math problems. Then, I went to go meet my math teacher, and she was the only teacher that was wearing a mask, but she was fine too, and she told me that I need a scientific calculator. Then I tried to find my locker but little did I know that nobody uses lockers in high school, but It took me forever to find it and after I found it which was somewhere in the w wing, my mom and I went home. Then, a couple weeks passed and it was the first of school, it was fun and all and I don’t really remember much about the first day of school, but I didn’t have any of my friends in any of my classes, but thankfully I did have lunch with them, but all my other classes were boring. A few weeks later, an announcement came from the PA that they always came every Monday during homeroom, and it said to sign up in Edficiency which is a system to schedule for w hours, and so I did for Thursday. On Thursday my friend and I went into Room E23 and got a cookie and sat down. Then the newspaper's advisor told us about the paper and what the format is for every topic, afterwards individual editors came and told us what their roles were for the newspaper. After they were all done talking about the details on every genre, the advisor told us to come in front of the classroom and sign up to be involved in the school newspaper. So I went up there and signed up not knowing if I’m good enough to join this. Then it was the next meeting and our meetings were usually held on Thursday so it was Thursday and the topics we could write about in every genre was introduced and then we were able to sign up for whatever we wanted to write about and then I went up and signed up for it. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to take interviews on time. So it was the next meeting and again I failed to complete an article because I didn’t the required amount of interviews, I believe if I can recall I had gotten 2-3 interviews but the required amount was at least 5 so then again my article wasn’t complete and published and I always used to write in the news genre. So then I signed up again and yes, after getting a hang of what needed to be done, I did it and my article got published. It was about “The driving simulator not required for 16-17 year old”. So I was really happy and I even showed my parents the newspaper, and they weren’t the happiest because they were disappointed that I didn’t write for the first few issues. Then again a couple issues passed and I just couldn’t manage my time or I wasn’t getting enough agreements for interviews so then for the last issue I signed for it and was hoping I could get it done because it was the last one and it would be a shame if I only wrote one article for the newspaper so I tried my best and took time out of my class and lunch hours to get the interviews done. By the grace of God, I did get it done and I was so happy that I compromised and got it done. I also learned a lot from joining the school newspaper because it gave me confidence and I am not that shy and afraid to talk to people and my mom also said that to encourage me. I will definitely be in the school newspaper next year also because I read some reviews from the seniors who had joined it and what kind of experiences they had with writing and being editors so I hope next year I can do even better and be able to become an editor.