By Trenton Smith Posted December 14, 2011
You know, people really don’t know what they have until they lose it. Few people know this as much as I do. I used to be a redneck. I lived in the “Buckle of the Bible Belt,” the wonderful, tree-filled state of Alabama-the “Heart of Dixie.” And I had some of the best friends anybody could ever have. Then, my dad got a job on the new Ruby Pipeline. And my whole life went into a tailspin.
I was born in the south, where many people here wouldn’t like it just because there are a lot of rules and restrictions. Here? No limits, no restrictions. It is a huge change for me. Not a lot of the leeway that is allowed here would even be thought of, let alone allowed, in the south.
No one here knows (or even cares) who I am just because I didn’t go to middle school with them. In the South, when there was a new kid in school, their first day they would make at least one friend. By the end of that year, no matter how short it was, he would have 10 or more friends and around half of their class would know who they was. I’m pretty sure around 5% of my grade knows who I am, and that’s sad; even if we have only been in school for three months.
As a freshman, your popularity is naturally low to begin with, but when no one went to school on your side of the Mississippi River, your popularity level is very, very low. I’m not athletic, so that really helps get me friends (not really), I am in the pep band and the newspaper, so people think I’m a nerd, and certain people think that it’s okay to pick on me. That’s going to get worse because I’m going to try to be in Quiz Bowl (an academic team that is stereotypically for nerds), so they are going to bully me even more.
You know, I think I have had to put up with more of a move than anyone in the entire school, and with the biggest change(s) than anyone else, too. If there is anyone at Lowry that has moved here from a different part of the country, you are not alone and I would love to meet you.
