Kayla writes and expresses herself beautifully. This story, teen friendship and relationship, is about the delicate balance of high school life; making life-long friends, especially, in a school where boy-girl relationship is discouraged. Kayla writes that strong friendship helps when you feel as if you were ‘drowning’. She believes that
Beautiful things happen when you distance yourself from negativity.
This is Kayla’s second article published on PNG Writers’ Corner. Her first article, I am My Father’s Daughter, has received overwhelming responses from our readers. We would like to thank Kayla and wish her all the best in her new adventure. The link can be found at the end of this story.
New school, strange place
I never thought I’d one day proudly call the people I met in high school, my family. When I started high school (9th grade), honestly it wasn’t great for me. All I wanted to do was go back home.
There were a lot of new faces in this strange new place and I just couldn’t handle it. Although there were a few people that I knew back in the 8th grade, it still didn’t seem like I knew anyone.
I always had this problem with opening up and talking to new people. I only talk to someone when they approach me first, not the other way around. In many ways, I was always shy and would probably describe myself as an introvert. During lunchtime, I would eat inside the classroom, that was until I found out that we weren’t allowed to eat inside.
The worst part about being the way I am, was when we had class presentations. Standing in front of an audience and talking was never one of my strong suits. However, that all changed when I got to know some new, extraordinary people.
Learning to be confident
There was this one assignment in Personal Development that every student had to do so that we’d all get to know each other. We had to tell a little story about our lives and why we wanted to attend this high school. To be honest, it was a great experience.
In a few weeks, everyone knew each other. And now that everyone in my class knew how I was, they all made it their business to get me talking, even when I didn’t want to. With their help and persistence, I finally came out of my comfort zone and started doing the things I was afraid of.
I was a different person all of a sudden. And honestly, I was happy about it. I was more confident in myself and when it was time for class presentations, I was ready to practice and present. That made me realise how blessed I was to be in that particular class. The fact that they all made it their business to get me to come out of my shell, was heartwarming.
Teen friendship and relationship – strong class
After getting to know every one of my classmates, I considered them as family. From that day on, I had a family to go home to, and a family to come to school to. Everything we did in school, we did as a class, and of course, as a family. Not every day was perfect. We had our ups and downs as the days went on, but we always came through for each other at the end of the day.
One afternoon, while walking home from school, I noticed something. I saw someone that I recognised, so I approached. And to my surprise, it was one of my very own classmates. I couldn’t believe that all this time, I didn’t know he lived in the same area as I did. From that day on, we would always walk to school together, and at the end of the day, walk back home together. We got to know each other pretty well. We became best friends.
Teen’s affection, friendship and relationship
A few weeks later, he confessed his feelings to me. It turned out that all that time we had spent together, made him feel a certain way. Not to lie, I felt the same way towards him as well.
After talking, we came upon an agreement and we became friends. This time, it was different. It felt different too. We did everything together both at school and at home.
Unfortunately, in our school, the rules were strict. The school did not allow relationships between boys and girls because it could possibly disturb their studies. So we tried as much as possible not to get in each other’s way at school. But by doing that, we started drifting apart. From there, everything started going downhill. Our grades started dropping and we argued all the time because we didn’t have time for each other.
Obviously, we didn’t really understand what we were doing. Going into a relationship at a very young age, both of us in the same school, was challenging.
Teen friendship and relationship turn sour
Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and before we knew it, it was the end of the year. Our results didn’t turn out as we hoped.
In fact, I couldn’t see that I was slowly drowning because of the unhealthy relationship I was in. I was always being in control of my school life daily. I would always ask for permission before doing something, not to mention, as much as I tried, whatever I did wasn’t good enough.
It all made me think that I wasn’t good enough. That I was the one at fault. I was the one making the relationship sink. It took me a very long time to finally realise that it wasn’t me. I was so blinded by the love that I had for the other person that I didn’t know how to love myself, to think for myself. I was dead inside.
Young and confused, but great friends
But thank God, I finally came to my senses, all thanks to my best friends whom now I call my sisters. They reminded me of the reason why I worked hard to make it to high school. And it was not being blinded by what was known as ‘puppy love’.
Thankfully, the person that I fell for at the high school, remains my friend today.
We both grew up and agreed that what we had back then, wasn’t real. I guess you could say that we were just young and confused. I’m glad I had that kind of experience in high school. It was a huge lesson learnt.
It made me become the matured person that I am today. In high school, we experience a lot. We have both good and bad memories, but, what stays constant, are the people that we meet whom we call our beloved friends.
Editor’s note
Kayla’s first article on PNG Writers’ Corner, I am My Father’s Daughter, is a story of a young girl who struggled with the loss of her dad when she was at primary school. Her circumstances changed and soon she realised things were not the same anymore.
Teen friendship and relationship is about making memories, regardless of whether they are good or bad. The best this about this story is that Kayla had a great group of friends that she calls her family. She believes that ‘Beautiful things happen when you distance yourself from negativity.’
She is an esteemed young writer. We had the pleasure of publishing her work on PNG Writer’s Corner (read the inspiring stories from PNG Writers).
Call for PNG Student Writers
We would love to hear from our primary and secondary school students. If you are an aspiring young writer, get in touch.
The PNG Writer’s Corner is an initiative to tell your stories and inspire others. We offer a small reward for every unique article that we publish. Contact us on Twitter or email us at info@pnginsight.com
