"One.Two.Three." I stare out the window at the intimidating herd of strangers as I try to remember to breathe. In and out is a mantra playing over and over in my head. In the background of my overpowering thoughts, I hear a familiar, reassuring voice attempting to break through my own internal fears. It's my mother. "It's going to be okay! Plenty of other kids are new, its normal to be so worried!" I can tell that she is trying to reassure herself of that fact just as much as she is trying to reassure me.

The past three months of being homeschooled took me from being an outgoing, carefree kid to one riddled with stress that I could barely recognize. After the ninth time reciting my daunting new schedule in my head, I remind myself that it's just high school. I step out of the car, fidget with my shorts and try to look as confident as possible as I make a beeline towards the unfamiliar buildings. Quickly shuffling past excited freshman, I try to avoid eye contact with the curious glances.

I still haven't mastered the art of blending in, even with this being my fifth school in five years. I did master making new friends though. Or at least I thought. Something changed within me over the long summer. Worries and irrational fears started plaguing my mind until even the thought of telling a waiter my order made my heart beat like a racehorse and my mind spin, thinking about how I'd stutter.

The attention of the nearby students made me second-guess everything. "Why are they looking at me? Am I wearing the wrong thing? Will they hate me?" I shuffle as fast as I can towards the closest restroom and lock myself in the handicap stall. I set my perfectly organized backpack on the ground and start fidgeting with my hair and clothes and anything I could find while I critique myself in the mirror. I try to hold back tears as my breathing increases and the hyperventilating starts.

I contemplate calling my mother as the overwhelmed sensation continues to choke me. I know I'm being irrational and that only makes my thoughts worsen. A year ago, I would have no problem walking up to every person I saw and introducing myself. Now I'm confining myself to a bathroom with only my thoughts and fears to keep me company."

That is part of a paper I wrote five years ago for my freshman year English class, and reading it now makes me so sad that I ever felt like that. I thought that I was alone and everyone else was floating past without a care in the world. My anxiety often heightened my emotions and made things like starting a new school harder for me but I never considered that others were struggling as well.

I was inspired to write this article after talking to a group of kids about to start high school at the same school I went to. They told me about the fears and worries they have about being alone in a new place and it brought me right back to how sad I was freshman year.

I learned many things in high school that I didn't know going in. I worried about silly things that didn't matter and overthought everything before I started freshman year.

So, without further ado, this is the hard-earned advice I wish I could tell my younger self and advice for others starting high school feeling the same way I did.

To all the kids about to start school, it gets easier. You will meet your best friends and learn so much about yourself. I entered high school scared and stressed and I left as a completely different person. My advice is definitely more than a little cliche, but it's what I wish I knew five years ago, going into highschool.