I believe in being a friendly face.

I have been at Sandy Spring Friends School since 2nd grade. For reference, that’s almost a third of my life. Before coming here, I had never been new before. Like— ever. I had never gone into a situation not knowing anyone. And I was nervous, to say the least. Don't get me wrong, I was overjoyed to be going to SSFS. But at the same time I was scared to try something so new. I have grown up Christian, and the school I went to before was Montesorri, so I had no prior knowledge of the Quaker religion.

When I walked into Catherine Carneal’s 2A classroom, the first thing I saw was all of my classmates running to meet me. I instantly felt relieved and knew this was a place I could fit in and be myself. The rest of that year, I tried new things like making sap and performing in a play. From that moment on, I wasn’t as scared to be new. All it took was at least one friendly face to make me comfortable in a situation like that. I think this moment completely changed my perspective when going into new situations, and welcoming people into communities I am familiar with. 

Being a friendly face is something I always try to do because when I came to SSFS, I was immediately welcomed into the community. Now, whenever someone is shadowing or touring, I always make an effort to welcome them the same way that I was welcomed all those years ago. When I am a host, I always try to show people the best thing about our campus. And believe it or not, it’s not the PAC, or the high school, or the open fields, but the people.

This year, me and my friends started something new, The Kindness Challenge. It’s simple things like saying hello, holding the door for someone, and just asking them if they’re okay that can matter. That’s why I really like to do this challenge, because I always gain something from it. And it’s not ‘winning’, or making my friends laugh. It’s the smiles on people’s faces.

You’ll never walk a day in my shoes, and I’ll never walk in yours. That’s why it’s so important to me to be a friendly face. Even when I’m having a bad day, if someone asks me if I’m okay, I always feel happy because they have made an effort to be kind. So when I see someone having a bad day I always try to make them feel welcomed and I make sure they know that I support them.

After all, it’s harder to be mean than to just be nice, so choose to be kind.

Link to audio recording

https://voca.ro/1erL2wKxx0dX