As the editor-in-chief of Troy High’s yearbook, most people are shocked to learn that I almost quit yearbook when I first joined. On the first day of my sophomore year, I dawdled into fourth hour with no idea that I would be the only underclassman in the class. The anxious, sinking feeling in my stomach hit me as I looked around to find no familiar faces. I didn’t say a word to anyone throughout the entire class period, and bolted out the door as soon as the bell rang. I vividly remember later that day when my mom came home with the cliché “How was school?” on the tip of her tongue, only to find me lying face down and moping on the couch, trying not to cry.

     “If you really hate it that much, just drop the class,” she told me. I confirmed that I really did hate it that much, and the morning of the second day of school I went down to the counseling office to pick up a schedule change sheet.

     When fourth hour rolled around, I procrastinated going to class for as long as possible. When I finally forced myself into the classroom, I sat in the corner and didn’t talk to anyone. All of these vivacious, cheerful upperclassmen girls were terrifying to me. They were all so self-confident and popular and chatty - basically the exact opposite of my shy, quiet, uncomfortable sophomore demeanor. But despite the fact that I was younger and probably very unapproachable, they were all ridiculously friendly. I’d take out the schedule change sheet and stare at it and feel guilty, because how could I leave these strangers who were trying so hard to make me feel welcome? So I would shove the paper in the back of my folder and resolve to fill it out later. Later never came.

     I consider joining yearbook to be the best choice I made in high school. Almost all of my closest friends and favorite memories came out of that class, and I’ve never regretted my decision to stay.

     Soon I found myself running to fourth hour, instead of away from it. I was trying to route my schedule so I could stop by the yearbook lab and see my new friends during passing time, and hurry to meet up with them after school. When I interviewed for the business editor position, our advisor made a comment about how I had “come out of my shell,” and I couldn’t agree more.

     Yearbook has helped me gain confidence; shy, awkward, sophomore me couldn’t handle going by herself to interview a varsity volleyball player, but assertive, self confident, editor-in-chief me manages to instruct an entire class with ease. Yearbook helped me learn to face my fears; the older girls who once terrified me are the same girls I spent almost every day with last summer. Most of all, yearbook taught me to try new things; I can’t imagine what my life would be like if I had gone through with my plan to drop the class.

     A few weeks ago, when a new shy, awkward, sophomore texted me saying he didn’t feel like he belonged in yearbook, I knew exactly what to do. I thought back to my second day of sophomore year, when all of those terrifying upperclassmen had tried to include me in their conversation, and thought of what they might say. When the new sophomore told me that what I said meant a lot to him, that he was halfway through writing an email to his counselor about dropping yearbook, and that he didn’t plan on sending it anymore, I couldn’t help but reminisce about my own schedule change form that never got filled out. I hope yearbook will help him transition from shy to confident, from sophomore to senior, from child to adult, the same way it helped me.