Sitting in the guidance office the first day of school, I asked myself, ‘how'd I get into this mess?' Moving to Fredericton N.B. from Quispamsis, just outside of Saint John, N.B., a distance of little more than 100 kilometers has, at times, felt like moving to a different country; I can't seem to figure out the right way to do things.

Around this time last year my family found out we would have to move. My father was taking a new job which required a two year move to Fredericton. Over the summer we visited Fredericton High School to register and get my course selection straightened out. All was well and I was actually looking forward to the first day.

The first day of school I woke up feeling confident and ready to take on the challenges of starting a new school. I put on my new clothes, straightened my hair and put all my new school supplies together. I caught the city bus, which I've only been on three times in my life. I made my way to the cafeteria and then to home room with some help from a friend. Everything seemed to be going well until I received my schedule. My day went downhill from there. That's when I found myself sitting in the guidance office, once again something became messed up.

A thousand thoughts and questions were going through my head at this time. Feelings of being unwanted and loneliness dug at me. If I were at my old school, Kennebecasis Valley High, I would be talking and laughing with my friends but instead I was sitting in the guidance office thinking I have no friends and no one wants to be my friend.

I felt like screaming after sitting there for so long but I kept my anger in the best I could. I was afraid if I was too angry I might make a scene and reduce my chances of making friends. I debated whether or not to call my mother and get her to help sort things out. It seems that when a parent complains there is a greater impact on the results than if a student does. Deciding to take Kelly Clarkson's, American Idol winner, advice and be ‘Miss Independent'. I stood up, marched into see the guidance counselor and said, ‘I want my courses changed!' A few minutes later I came out with my courses all corrected. Being ‘Miss Independent' really paid off. It felt good accomplishing that task on my own. Since I spent the whole first day in the guidance office I didn't know where any of classes were, and this had to be my biggest fear about starting at a new school.

I called my mother and explained my situation. As I told her my voice began to crack knowing I was upset. She mentioned it to my father, the next thing I knew both my parents showed up at the school. We requested to see the vice-principal at once. At this time my parents were very upset that things had not gone well for me. The vice-principal was also upset since he had spent quite some time sorting my schedule out previously. He felt badly for me because I was so angry I was crying. He took his lunch hour to show me where my classes were. After my tour I felt more comfortable with the school. I had a very good feeling about how the next day was going to turn out.

I learned a few things about life that first day of school. I am more capable of solving my problems than I realized. And the kindness of that vice-principal showed me the goodness of the school. Maybe I will make a success of the mess that started on the first day.