“No one is staring at you, No one is staring at you” is what you may be thinking when you arrive on your first day of school.

Most of us think that we are the only ones that experience being “new” to a school, a state or a country. We only focus on what others will act or say towards us. But all you want is to feel that you belong. Well, you are not the only one. I was new at this school last year; I came from the Philippines. When I first came to McKinley, I felt nervous. I didn’t know anyone in my class, and I came here late, near the end of first quarter.

Many students stared at me on my first day. I didn’t know anyone except for the teacher. I felt scared that no one would talk to me. I felt alone and thought no one liked me. It is difficult to be the only one that is new. You feel lonely and scared.

What I noticed in all of my interviews, freshmen didn’t find it difficult to adjust to their new school because everything is new to all of them. It’s the new 10th, 11th, or 12th grader who struggles. Every person that is new to this school or this island has different things to worry about. Some are worried about their classes, Some are worried everybody will stare at them. Some are worried about their grade.

“I didn’t really expect anything different, except possibly harder classes since that’s what I’ve been told from other people,” said Rebekah Waldhauer (10).

“I expected it to be very different. I’m used to being in a smaller school. And I knew everyone was going to stare at me,” Marc Davis (10) said.

“I expected things to be much more scary, with all the other kids,” said Saige Miller (9).

“I’m worried about my grades,” Pieryl Rizan (9) said.

Some students get left behind because they can’t understand what the teacher is saying. It is either new to them or they are used to speaking in their own language rather than English, examples of these are: Chinese, Chuukese, Tagalog, Ilocano, Korean, etc.

“Sometimes, I can’t understand what my classmates or teacher are saying,” Zhi Hui Yan (9) said.

“I have a language problem,” said Jia Hao He (10).

Do you have a teacher or a peer that treats you coldly? Like, they don’t want you to be in their class? Don’t help you when you are having difficulty on a class activity? Or you can’t approach them because you are not fluent in English? How our teachers and peers treat us can affect our self-esteem.

For example, if the teacher or my classmate is treating me coldly, I will be scared of them. If I have difficulty on a lesson, I’ll be afraid to ask someone about it because I feel that the teacher or my classmates don’t like me. Also, I can’t approach them because I am not fluent in English, I won’t be able to express what I want to say. I will just choose not to talk at all.

If you have any difficulty, whether you are shy or can’t express yourself, join clubs, school activities, sports, or grade level activities. Make friends (real and live friends, not the imaginary.) Maybe in the future there will be someone who is new to your class and you can help them if they ever have difficulty or you can share your experience with them.

I hope all of the teachers, administrators and students help these new students. Especially the ones who are not fluent or don’t understand English. We should help them if they are having a difficult time with their studies or their social interaction. We must let them feel that we accept them, that they belong. If they are afraid to approach us, we should approach them and understand what they say or want to do. Being a united community, we all need to participate and work together, not leaving others behind.

If you think you are the only new student at school, you are not. There are many students like you.

Remember, you are not alone.