4 classes a day, 20 classes a week. I look forward to going to some and others not so much. Usually, I have at least a couple people I have become friends with, sometimes even my best friends, and on occasion no one. In the classes where no one seems familiar I sit there. I try to think what to say without saying the wrong thing or talking when the teachers are talking. I sit there like a baby bird who doesn’t want to come out of their shell. Almost two months into school and I can’t seem to get the words out in my chemistry class for more than 30 seconds. A typical conversation would near like this: 

“What did you get on the last test?” I ask the girl behind me.

“An 82, what about you?”

“Oh, I got an 80,” 

Thinking of what to say next I just turn around and go back to taking notes. However, as of yesterday the atmosphere felt different. And not chemically but welcoming. We had acquired new seats and lab groups and for the first time all year I felt like I wasn’t waiting for a pin to drop to break the common silence among the class. It was refreshing to be greeted by smiles and people who weren’t unsure whether to talk or not. At that moment, I didn’t feel intimidated by straight faces or closed off arms. Conversing the rest of the period without being fearful that one might not respond to me, I began to crack. My shell slowly started to break off as I could see it with new friends as well.