Walking through the hallways of Eleanor Roosevelt High School freshman year was somewhat intimidating. Being incredibly shy, I was one of the people being pushed aside so the older, bigger students could pass through. I entered high school with the mentality that the older the student is, the more respect and attention they "deserve." Therefore freshman were at the very bottom of the list, including myself. All through elementary and middle school the students behaved like this, not associating with anyone younger or older than themselves. It took me most of my first year of high school to gain enough confidence to become extroverted due to my realization that all these ideas I had in my mind about the with seniority comes superiority did not exist at Roosevelt.
On the very first day of school, a few seniors joined my friends and me at lunch. They offered advice and encouragement about high school, in a manner that never once made me feel like an ignorant freshman. The whole time I was expecting them to steal our lunch money or some other ridiculous juvenile prank that movies want people to believe teenagers do. After our conversation was over it took me a several minutes to realize maybe I was incorrect regarding my expectations of the student's behavior. However, the one incident did not completely convince me of all the students equality, it was the friends I made.
By the end of the week, I had made plans with sophomores and juniors at school who lived in my neighborhood that I had never imagined would want to make acquaintance with me. Of course I was too timid to have ever bothered talking to them before. Throughout the year I made more friends with students from a variety of age groups, and not once did I meet anyone that spoke to me in a condescending manner. As I met more people my confidence increased. I began to participate in conversations that before I might have just smiled and listened.