We've all been in a class when a new student walks in. They seem, awkward, uncomfortable, and scared. They haven't seen one familiar face in the room. After the teacher (or professor) introduces them, they find somewhere they can sit so they can be alone. How do I know all this? Because I was once the "new girl."

Moving from Alabama to Texas in the middle of my sophomore year was terrible. I had lived in Alabama all my life, so I had no idea what to expect in a state that large, let alone the city of Dallas. I never imagined what it would be like to actually have to move. I was leaving my friends and family that I had known all my life. I wasn't sure what I was going to do without them. And it didn't get any easier after my first couple of months of school.

I clearly remember my first day of school in Texas. Each classroom I walked into, recited my name and where I was from. "Umm my name is Taylor and I'm from Alabama." That was pretty much all I would say for the day. Every now and then, someone would ask me about Alabama Football or asked me why I moved. Honestly, I felt like a lot of people actually were curious about me, until it would be the next day and the people I have conversations with the day before no longer spoke to me.

As you can see, it wasn't easy making friends right from the get-go. After months of trial and error and forcing myself into certain groups, I found my right one. It first began as me trying to shape myself into the people around me. For instance, I would be at lunch, and a group of girls would be talking about makeup. Me, not knowing a single thing about makeup would try to interact in conversation by saying something like "I love that mascara!" or "That's the only foundation I use to." Once I began to actually be myself and talked about my own interests, I found my right group of people. Along with that, in my two years of living in Texas, I landed a best friend for life.

So yes, being the new girl does have its ups and downs. Not knowing a single person can promote you in becoming whoever you want to be. You have a lot of time to discover yourself, and the opportunity to become a better person than you were before. Looking back at the whole "new girl journey," I can officially say the experience was worth it. It taught me so many life lessons and introduced me to so many different people that I would've been exposed to if I had never moved.