I woke up to the sound of my alarm ringing way too loudly, like it was screaming that summer was officially over. For a moment, I just lay there, staring at the ceiling, trying to convince myself to get up. My hair was a mess, my thoughts were even messier, and my stomach felt tight with a mix of excitement and nerves.
As I washed my face, I caught my reflection in the mirror and wondered if I actually looked ready for the first day of school. The house was still quiet, but inside my head it felt noisy questions piling up like, “What if my friends changed? What if no one sits with me? What if everything feels different?” When I stepped outside, the morning air was cool, almost calming, and the sky looked just a little too bright for how nervous I felt.
But as I walked closer to school, my heartbeat started picking up again. The moment I reached the gate, everything hit me at once the chatter, the laughter, the rush of students hugging and comparing schedules. I almost froze, wondering where I fit in all of that. Then I heard someone call my name, and when I turned, it was a friend from last year waving at me. Just like that, the tightness in my chest loosened a little. Maybe this year wouldn’t be perfect, but at least I wasn’t walking into it alone.
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