“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment” ~ Buddha. This quote reflects so much upon my own life and many others. I have had a great life so far, but last year, you could say my year was flawless. It was flawless because I had joined a new school and upon all my doubts, made the most of the school year that I could.
Last year I attended a different school, Walled Lake Northern. I attended this school because my mom had moved us out of our old home, and stuck us in a condo. Although I hated the change at first it actually caused me to gain more friends. One particular friend gave me a memory I will never forget.
It was around the third day of school, and like the stereotypical new kid, I was quiet and thought that I would never fit in. Then I walked in to my fourth hour, Spanish, my least favorite hour of the day, and sat down. Next to me there was a kid named Norman. Norman at the first impression was a medium built shy boy with messy brown hair and a silly smirk. Taking this into consideration I was shocked when he turned in his baggy sweatshirt and mumbled “Hey, you know you’re in like four of my classes right?”
At this exact moment I was taken back, back to a time where I had just graduated from my elementary school, Springfield Plains.  I grew distant from many of my friends through the new “team” system. I was placed in a similar situation with my recent change in school. Yet, Norman was giving me the same respect that everyone shared for each other in 6th grade, a time before everyone became selfish.
Just the fact someone actually started a conversation with me made me tremble as I repeated don’t be weird, don’t be weird, don’t be weird, over and over in my head. But, overcoming my fear I replied “yeah, since we have similar last names were always next to each other, right?” I thought finally I found a friend that will sit next to me when we sit alphabetically. He took a long second after that and suddenly murmured with sorrow “Dude I’m so sorry I don’t actually remember your name.” I could tell he was sincerely interested in my name so I replied “Oh no problem man its Cam, Cam Winship.” After that Norman had said something but it was drowned out by the loud bell signaling lunch time.
As we both stood and threw our beat up backpacks over our shoulders I worked up the courage to say “Is it good if I eat lunch at your table?” Now this may not seem like that heavy of a question, but I had been sitting alone, and sitting at someone’s table is a big deal in high school. He turned to me with a confident smile and somewhat shouted, “Of course man let me introduce you to the rest of my friends first though.” At this point I knew we would be great friends, because I finally felt accepted, and knew that I would be a part of his group of friends. My year had been infinitely improved. We walked to lunch talking of teachers and anything else we had in common.
At that moment I realized I had over thought it, even though in the past I had met many jerks, not everyone is going to be like that. I had realized that I met a true friend, a friend that I became very close with. I myself looked at the future way too often, always thinking it would only get worse and worse until I got out of high school. That was all changed in just ten minutes from one kid saying hey; it’s amazing how much one voice can really change a day, a week, or even a life.