I Am Me

Hello, my name is rpenna24. If you know anything about me, it’s that I’m a military brat. But being a military brat wasn’t easy. I was born in Key West, Florida back in 2006, moved to Washington state shortly after. My parents got divorced and I went with my father. We settled in Boston, my father worked on the Coast Guard Pier in the North End and I went to Saint John’s Catholic School right down the road.

Right from the start, I knew I was different from everyone else. Everyone seemed to have the same likes and dislikes, the same ideologies, and the same look. I never belonged, I was a very bad kid. I was often mad and I stole a lot of stuff, not proud of that but it’s helped me understand why I became who I am today. I went to 5 different high schools. The first one, freshman year was Tartan high school in Oakdale, MN. It was all online, I slept through most of my classes, and never made a single friend. The second high school was Bourne high school Cape Cod, Massachusetts for sophomore year. I had gone to Bourne middle school, so I kinda just blended right back in. But I started to get comfortable and I only stayed for one semester, it was hard leaving that school again.

Third high school was Harpswell Coastal Academy, you guessed it, Harpswell Maine. The school was located in the same building as a contracting office, with the only separation being a blocked off stairwell in the middle of the English room. Needless to say, I was only there for the shadow day. The fourth was Mt Ararat Topsham, Maine, still in sophomore year. I only stayed at that school for 2 or 3 months, I made a couple friends and it felt really nice to have something to look forward to again. Then I moved. Last stop was Oak Hill. I came here at the very end of sophomore year. I couldn’t bother with making friends, I was burnt out.

Junior year came and went, made friends but never became involved with the school because I didn’t think it was important, oh the irony. It’s senior year now and time is a thief. As I reflected on making this speech, I realized it was never about belonging. It was about never changing who I was. I could have made 1,000 different versions of myself to feel like I belonged, but would I? Would I actually belong if I wasn’t myself? I made it this far in life without 1,000 versions of myself, I think that answers the question. But overall, there was no point in changing, so I never did. I found life long friends, many great memories, and even my future. Never try to be someone you’re not, you’re not going to get very far. Goodbye, high school and classmates, and thank you for making me stay true to myself.

 “The Graduates” by Game of EPL5 & LUMIX G20/F1.7 is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.