Back In High School

Dear Younger Me,

I never thought I’d be back here. Halls I once avoided. Classes I skipped. The years I drifted through, today they look different. Not a student anymore. Now, I’m the office lady, the one who keeps things moving, who smiles at the students walking in, who sees them in ways I once wished to be seen.

I remember how you felt back then. Lost. Disconnected. Like school was happening around you, not for you. You sat near the bottom of the class, convinced this place had nothing to offer. You were simply trying to make it through.

And yet, life brought me back.

Now, when I walk the halls, I carry you with me. I see the students who feel invisible, who wonder if they matter, who believe they’re already behind. And I want to whisper to them what I wish someone had whispered to you:

“you belong. You are more than your grades, more than your mistakes, more than what people see on the surface.”

To those who knew me then, you might remember the girl who seemed absent, who seemed detached, who didn’t stand out for much. That was part of my story, yes, but it wasn’t the whole story. And it isn’t the ending.

Being here now feels like a second chance; not to redo high school, but to stand in it with new eyes and a full heart. To know that the girl who once felt unseen has returned, not as a student, but as someone who can notice, nurture, and support others.

It feels like a quiet redemption. A circle closing. A chance to honor where I’ve been and who I’ve become.

So yes, I’m back in high school. And this time, I know I belong here.