By Haley Whitt ’15

Whether we like to admit it or not, we are concerned with our social image and how other people see us. This seems reasonable, given the fact that much of our lives are spent in groups with others. In addition to socializing, playing sports and working together, groups deliver us our social identity, which adds to our sense of who we are. So what happens when we find ourselves floating between different groups of people and never truly fitting into just one category?

Up until about halfway through my high school career, I had thought that fitting into a group was one of the most important social aspects of high school (likely due to the cliché that says high school is where you find yourself and who your true friends are, but clearly, I wasn’t finding that). I have come to realize that it isn’t about what group you fit into; it is about being around people who bring out the best in you. Personally, I have found that the people I associate myself with are all completely different, meaning they have come from different groups themselves, but they all bring out positive sides of me that motivate me and support me.

It is important to focus on ourselves and how to make ourselves the best that we can be instead of concentrating on trying to fit in, because it shouldn’t require effort to feel part of a friendship or group (this includes cutting out the feelings that make us feel alone or secluded from groups). It is much better to have a few widespread friends that you can completely be yourself with than having several friends within a specific group who don’t even relate to you. Being independent is a scary part of growing up, but it gives us all a chance to truly be ourselves and not feel pressured to conform to any certain social group.

As I graduate from Sherwood and move on to be a Tiger at Towson, I look forward to seeing new faces and making connections with people that I can (fingers crossed) effortlessly get along with and enrich my educational experience.