Transfer Student Reflects: The Best Two Years Of My Life

By Wyatt DiDio '22

The experience that changed my life dramatically was transferring my junior year of high school into Delone Catholic. 

In my old school I never really fit in and didn't feel like I was accepted. By my sophomore year I was dreading going to school every day and my once carefree and optimistic mood was shattered, I reverted to being harsh and defensive. 

Then Covid hit and we were all suddenly online and out of the classroom; I had plenty of time to relax but I still was not the same person I used to be. 

One day my parents sat me and my brother down and explained to us that they wanted to enroll us in a private school which would be in-person learning. My first thought was that I would go from being the sad nerd that I was to being the sad nerd and the weird new kid. I eventually agreed to tour the school and was surprised when I saw how small the school was. 

Over the summer my twin brother and I started going to soccer practices and I was greeted with the most welcoming group of kids I had ever met. Immediately, I started feeling better about leaving my old school and embracing the new school where I was making friends on the soccer team quickly. 

I also started to notice I was finding my sense of humor again and the people I was finding myself surrounded by wanted me to be successful. Time came for the first day of school and I was very nervous to be the new kid based on what I knew about how new kids were treated in my old school. I was blown away again by the amount of friendliness and positivity I was surrounded by at this school. 

Kids greeted their friends in the hallways and even though there was a pandemic going around the girls would always greet each other with big hugs. It turns out the small school environment was just what I needed in order to finally relax and accept myself for who I am. 

I had hid my true personality from others in my first two years of high school in fear of being hurt but now I was breathing fresh air, and I was able to spread the joy and laughter around to my new found friends without being scared. 

I am now sitting in my last English class of my high school career with my only regret being that I didn't attend Delone Catholic my entire high school career. Delone will always be like a home to me and I pray that I will be in a position to send my children there when I am older.

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