I have been a "new kid" three times throughout my high school career. It's been quite a time, especially the first run, specifically because I was changing not only schools but states and classroom types as well. In late 2020, I moved to Florida from Arizona with the hope of being adopted by a family. I was going to attend South Sumter High School, and it was going to be my first time in a General Education classroom in years. Previously, I had been in a private school for Special Education students, so this change was quite daunting for me. It was bad enough lacking friends and familiar faces; now I had to adapt to a new style of classes. Luckily for me, I made a connection with a faculty member quickly: Mr Hanson, my Leadership Development teacher, was the other end of that connection. He got me involved in my first club, introduced me to people I'm still friends with to this day and ultimately made the transition much easier. It didn't last long though, as my adoptive mother had received a job opportunity in North Carolina, forcing us to move again not even a year and a half after moving to Florida. During the first three months of the move, my adoptive mother, two sisters Maddie and Lauren, and I all stayed in a camper trailer close to Greensboro. There, I attended Southern Alamance High School for a short while. This was probably the hardest transition, specifically because I knew that in a few months, I'd be moving almost three hours away from the area. This made it exceptionally difficult to get attached to fellow students, as well as faculty. I'll admit, I even let my grades dip a little, strictly because I felt it didn't matter at the time. That was a choice I'd come to regret. When the three months were up, we were able to move into our new house in Ayden. I am in this living arrangement to the present day, and I still attend the same high school. The high school, in question, is Ayden-Grifton High School. The school itself was very community-oriented, and most students had a very different background than I did. Most students here had been going to school together for years, and I was an outsider. Although I wasn't used to these kinds of people, them being very "country" and myself being from city areas, the other students and faculty were at the very least, cordial to me. I started at Ayden-Grifton in the second semester of my Sophomore year. I am going to graduate from AGHS soon. I have made acquaintances, and friends, and even went through my first relationship. This school was, and is, my home school. Throughout my high school career, I have overcome many obstacles, despite my constant switching of schools. I started my General Education journey in South Sumter and will end it in Ayden-Grifton. Though I have overcome so many things, I know and understand I have many, many other obstacles in my path. Despite this knowledge, I look forward with optimism and curiosity. I am excited to attend University, and I am excited to begin my working career. Someday, perhaps I will be an example and a role model to other "new kids", and not just restricted to them. I want to become an example of perseverance, good behavior and change. I want to prove to other students that things can change for the better, and that being the "new kid" or the "outcast" isn't permanent.

Ever since I was quite small, I had always had a different opinion on aspects of life than most people. It would range from small things such as simple game rules not making sense to severe aversion to certain sounds. I was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder quite later than expected. My grandmother had known I had it very early, yet professionals refused to believe it. I had been denied it by most people, yet my family believed that autism affected me more than professionals would admit. However, by the time kindergarten had started for me, my teachers had realized something was wrong. I wouldn't socialize normally, or an almost inaudible noise would annoy me, or I'd challenge things the teacher said because I couldn't find the logic. Yet I still never received my formal diagnosis for years. In class, I had always been called a delinquent for "challenging authority", or "being disruptive". The list could go on for half a mile. I had always been outcasted by my peers as "weird". I was never truly accepted by anyone, and my behaviors were frowned upon. It seemed like everything I did, at least from a social standpoint, was wrong. Because of this, I've always had low self-esteem. Little did I know, my logic-challenging, leg-bouncing and random noise-making were normal for people like me. Around fourth grade, or 2014, I was taken by the Department of Child Services and put into a foster home with my aunt. I still remained undiagnosed until around 2017, when I was living in a different home. I vaguely remember that day: loads of tests, questions and confused thoughts. It lasted all day, until finally I was formally diagnosed with ASD. It took me by surprise. I knew my family thought I had it, but I'd always been denied it formally. After a long six years, I've learned to live with it. I've never really accepted I was autistic until recently. I knew everyone had always said there's something different with me, but Autism was never something I'd considered. Now I realize from research and talking with people in similar situations that I'm displaying many traits that come with ASD. Ever since I was little, I was denied my identity of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Due to this, I had never truly found people I could relate to, and I'd always been in a "gray-area" of sorts. Always called a delinquent, I was denied many "privileges", which I had come to find out were actually rights and accommodations I needed to succeed. Now that I have my identity as an autistic person, it has become increasingly less difficult to advocate for myself. I hope to further my education with some help from these accommodations. I plan on attending college. I hope to pursue a Bachelor's degree in Business Management or Journalism. I also hope one day to be a voice for other people who were diagnosed with autism much too late, and never truly felt they belonged in this world. After all, change is only reachable if you take the steps to do so. And so here I am. I am taking those first steps for myself.