To be a follower is to lose the ability to be yourself. In 2022 I was finishing sixth grade. We had only just come back to school from the pandemic, and with a lack of social interaction from 5th and the start of 6th grade, I was still stuck in the ways of being a follower. Most kids related to my situation. I was a very social person, so I made many friends, but I never felt like I fully was a part of any group. I was the friend who would have to walk in the grass to be next to everyone else. It took me too long to realize that I never made any decisions of my own when it came to my friends. Whether it was what food was the best or even what color was my favorite, I always followed whatever my friends thought.

In the 6th grade, it was time to try your hardest to make friends. They either didn’t go to the same school as you anymore or you don’t have any of the same classes as them. I made acquaintances with people in my classes, but my favorite class was S.T.E.M.—something about a long table in a small classroom with a small number of kids that made it feel like everyone was much closer to another.

Of course, like anyone with newfound friends, I thought that my new friends were cool, and I wanted them to think the same way of me. Our teacher, Ms. S, assigned us a project, and the medium was a site called SCRATCH, a coding software that many kids my age used because it was easy to learn. I hadn’t had any prior experience with the site, but I remembered my elementary friends had mentioned it. When we were assigned the project, two of my friends that I was closest to expressed their excitement. Both of the girls start discussing what they loved about SCRATCH. I tried to come up with things to like, but I had never used it before. Then, they started discussing what they didn't like about it. A little back and forth between the two about whether or not SCRATCH was a fun site to use. I once again tried to add into the conversation, but it didn't go too well.

It became painfully obvious that I didn’t know anything about SCRATCH, but I had hoped that they thought I was cool for agreeing with them nonetheless. One of my newfound friends told me one thing that I can’t forget. She said, “It’s okay if you don’t agree with us; you can have your own opinion.” Thinking back, I realize that this was a rude thing to say to someone in front of everyone, though if she hadn’t been a little rude about the way she told me that, I don’t think I would’ve really understood what that meant. It meant that people could see that I was a follower and that I didn’t really have my own thoughts. Her words made me realize that I needed to stop worrying so much about whether people will or will not like me because the things that I like, they may not. I understood that I needed to change to become more confident. Instead of being a follower, I am an equal companion and share my true thoughts and feelings with those I hope to be friends with. If I hadn’t realized that, I wouldn't have found out that I actually liked SCRATCH. I probably would’ve lived my whole life hating it without ever giving it a chance.

© Zoe. All rights reserved. If you are interested in quoting this story, contact the national team and we can put you in touch with the author’s teacher.