First Day: Be Yourself

I get out of the car and close the door

And head to the school

Not knowing what’s in store

I had just come to Arizona in July

Still remembering

I told my old home goodbye.

This is my first school to attend in the states

I walk on in

Going through the gates

There is no one here that is like me

No one that I know

No one I can see

The first bell rings and I go

To my first 7th grade class

Walking quietly and fast

I enter the room and take a seat

Unsure of the people I will meet

I’m unfamiliar with the culture here

I don’t know what these people like

I don’t know what turns a person’s gear

I’m uncertain that I will fit in

And I think to myself

“Best to keep my real self hidden”

But then I remember my parent’s words

“Be yourself, chin up high to the North Star

And you’ll make friends

Who will accept who you are”