Hailey Siegrist

Staff Writer

@Hailey_siegrist

Being part of Coppell High School has really changed me, for the better. In middle school I was friends with a lot of girls who were not very nice and I was labeled the same thing as what they were labeled as, which was “pretentious.”

I was never a mean person; I actually care about people a lot. I like to help people and make them feel good about themselves. So, once I got into high school, it all changed. I got away from the “mean girls” and made new friends and adapted to high school very well.

My freshman year, I was called down to the freshmen office, and I thought I did something wrong, without knowing I did anything. I sat in the counselor’s office, and she told me that she was shocked on how comfortable I was being in high school and how well I adapted to it.

She asked me how I was adapting so well,  and I said I just like being at school. I like to learn so being here at school is not a big deal for me to come to school everyday.

But I did not just have all ups that year, I had things said to me that frustrated me. I was blonde, so people would make the jokes about how I was dumb and blamed it because I was blonde. So right before my sophomore year I dyed my hair and actually ended up liking it a lot.

Things changed, and I did not want to be pushed around anymore. I wanted to be my own person and be strong enough to stand up for myself.

My sophomore year was a little rough and my grades started to drop. I just kind of stopped caring and became unsocial with friends. I had a lot of pressure on me for grades so I could stay in choir. When my grades were not up to standard, then I would get a consequence and was not able to compete in choir competitions.

I have always taken to school and learning in a different way than others. The way I have got myself to “get by” in school has been difficult and different than how my friends have gotten through. But that is what makes me who I am.

I have had people tell me that I would never be anything or get anywhere, because I was not capable of the work or learning process, so I got serious about school and worked hard. Junior year, I was getting A’s, mostly and I was working really hard and it made me happy because my parents were proud. I knew that if I set my mind to it then I could accomplish a lot.

Whenever someone told me that I could not do something, I proved them wrong. I learned that and it has got me to where I am today. It shaped me into the type of person I would like to be.

When I was deciding my classes for senior year, my counselor asked me what I wanted to do for a career and I said that I wanted to be a writer/journalist and he said, “OK well I am going to sign you up for newspaper.” I was nervous about joining because I was new to this writing style and new to people in the class.

On the first day I sat down and I talked to Sidekick junior staff writer Sloane Samberson and I felt that we clicked so well. She got to know me everyday and we sit together everyday still and we are always on the same page with everything we talked about. She has been easy to talk to and I could tell her anything and I know she would not judge me.

Sloane encouraged me to write this for my senior column. It means a lot that she took time to express to me how she felt about me as a person. She wanted to people to know who I really am and the challenges I came across while being in high school.

I feel the reason why Sloane and I clicked so well was because we had a lot in common and went through similar things. So when I felt that I needed to tell someone something she was always there to listen. It means a lot to me that she would sit and listen and give me advice, I would always do the same for her.

Being a senior this year has made me think more about my future, and how people impacted me or how I have impacted them.

I think it just makes me realize that I am so close to finishing high school, so the stress heats up. But I know that I have worked hard, I feel proud of my accomplishments and even learned from mistakes that I have made.

I have brought myself to the point where I have been able to feel comfortable talking in front of classes and doing presentations. It makes me prepared for the future and knowing what I want to do as a career later in life.

I just appreciate so much, the school that I was able to go to, and the education I got to have. Most children in the world never got to have the chance to have as good of an education as I was allowed to have. I would like to say that I have accomplished a lot being apart of Coppell High School.