Who was that?
Sunday afternoon, 63 seniors walked across the stage in the Robert C. Brown gymnasium. Sixty-three students who had put in their share of hard work to earn the right to be there and take home that diploma.
Many of them you knew well. You've seen their names in the concert programs and heard them shouted in the gymnasium or the baseball diamond.
You've seen their faces — up in the crowd with the choir or band or standing in front of the audience at Sunday's graduation to receive yet another award. You know them and their parents, most likely.
But there are quite a few students whose names you do not know. This column is for them.
This column is for the senior who wasn't talented enough for sports. Who couldn't hit a shot or a softball to save her life. Who tried and tried to read music but couldn't. Who gave classes his all but still managed to make C's.
Maybe you didn't have a massive group of friends. Maybe things were tough at home and that hurt. Maybe you just never quite felt like you fit in.
Know what? That's OK.
It happens at every school — there's the "in" crowd and the "not-so-in" crowd.
Looking at the Hillsboro area, being in the "in" crowd probably means you play sports. You're in a music group. You get good grades.
All of these are good things, of course. There's no denying that extra-curricular activities are an important part of the school experience.
But they're not everything. And sometimes, when you're in high school, it feels like they are.
So if you were the one who was sitting in the back row of the auditorium during the assembly instead of up front with the student leaders, know this: You're a worthy person. You have family and friends who love you. You have just as much right to happiness as anybody else.
I speak from experience. During my years of schooling, I stank at sports. Gym class was a dreaded part of my day. I didn't wear the right clothes. My hair didn't look right.
But I found friends — true friends — who weren't a part of the "status quo" either. And they're the friends that have lasted a lifetime.
What's the point of this column? Just to say this: It's OK to be you.
— JENNIFER WILSON
