Picture this: waking up in the morning and feeling so nervous you could barely get out of bed. You’re in a new state, new town and attending a new school with new people. Everything has changed.

Junior Emma De Rubertis went to bed one night and woke up to start a new life.

“I was really nervous and scared,” said Decaires, “I remember really not wanting to go to school.”

 De Rubertis got to school along with her twin brother Ben and immediately felt confused. Surrounded by brand new people, places, and things, De Rubertis and her brother had no idea where to go.

“My brother and I ended up having all different classes, so I got even more nervous,” said De Rubertis.

De Rubertis walked into her first period class, U.S History and immediately felt isolated. Everyone had seem to be looking at her as though she were the odd one out.

“I had a few people ask me if I was new, and where I was from,” said De Rubertis, “which was nice because they reached out to me.”

All of De Rubertis’s teachers introduced her to the class which De Rubertis found releasing because she was too nervous to do it herself.

Soon the dreadful issue of where to sit at lunch time came around. De Rubertis had no idea where to eat, who to eat with or where to go. So she decided to introduce herself to her teachers instead of dealing with the chaotic lunch scene.

“They were all really nice,” said De Rubertis, “and said if I needed anything, I could always just ask.”

This was a nice reassurance for Emma because she now felt a foundation forming in a not so familiar place.

The day went on and De Rubertis’s stress level had risen. The theme of being alone was a constant reoccurrence for De Rubertis, because her teachers had not made a seating chart so most tables were formed by friend groups. With Emma left in an awkward position she tried to make her way to find a seat.

“Some people talked to me, and some didn’t,” said De Rubertis.

Sadly towards the end of the day,De Rubertis started getting tired of being in that awkward setting and didn’t want to come back again.

“From the stress of the first day, said De Rubertis,“I was scared to continue the rest of the year.”

Luckily by the end of the day, a kind face had introduced their self to De Rubertis, Anna Gillespie.

“Anna said I could hangout with her, and that she would help me get integrated,” said De Rubertis.

De Rubertis seemed to think that no one could understand how nerve racking her day was, but luckily, Gillespie did. What Gillespie did helped De Rubertis in a tremendous way that really meant a lot to her.

“Going home, I started to get stressed about going back the next day already,” said De Rubertis, “the people were nice, but I still didn’t know anyone well enough to call them a friend.”

De Rubertis didn’t know anyone well enough yet to even sit, talk or smile confidently at someone. It was like being in a whole new world.

“The shock of how different everything was hit me like a ton of bricks when I got home,”said De Rubertis.

Thankfully the emotional roller coaster had finally come to a stop and optimism started to set in.

“Later that evening,” said De Rubertis, “I decided that I would just have to hope for the best, and everything would turn out all right.”