In 8th grade, my mom and I were discussing what highschool I should attend. I wanted to go to Fairfax because that’s the school everyone I grew up with was going to. I had not heard about Rolling Hills Prep before and didn’t know anyone going there. The only person I knew was the Head Basketball Coach, Coach Kitani.
Coming to a new school would mean a new life for me and starting over. That's the main reason I was hesitant about coming. I was scared to lose the good relationships I’ve had for a long time. Moving to a new area and making new relationships was out of my comfort zone. I was comfortable where I was at and didn’t want anything to change.
During this time, I never thought about my future or the opportunities either schools could provide. I was only thinking about having fun and my interests outside of school. I was 12 at the time, so a better education wasn’t my biggest priority. I was more focused on having fun with my friends.
During my first two weeks at RHP it was lonely. I didn't know anybody there and I didn't introduce myself. I didn't find it much of a problem because I still lived in LA so when I got back home after school I would just hangout with my friends. But, at school, it was difficult because I wasn’t socializing. A couple weeks into school I made friends from the basketball team. I enjoyed coming to school even more because I started to find my RHP group.
I learned a lot while at RHP. The most notable concepts are the importance of effort and communication. You cannot get what you want when putting in the bare minimum effort. In middle school, I was used to doing most of the work on my own and making mistakes. At this school students communicate more with teachers and staff to get the help they need. I got used to it and communicated with most of my teachers. The more I did this, I saw an impact instantly, my grades got much better after I asked for help.