By Mariel Rosati ’19

This year, I started the seventh grade at Montrose as a new student.  On the first day, I had no idea what to expect.  Were the girls going to be kind and welcoming or was this going to be a hard transition?  After attending many different bonding trips, such as the Outward Bound experience and New Student Orientation, I figured this would be a great day.  That doesn’t mean I wasn’t nervous though!  I am sure all of the new students, and maybe even some of the returning ones too,  can relate to this feeling.  Well, this was it.  I rushed through the doors and started to walk down to my locker.

 Once I had located Locker 9, I reached into my binder to find the combination. After many attempts, I finally opened it.  As I was putting the finishing touches on the inside, I started to look around.  I noticed my “locker neighbors” and then started to fill up my blue book bag.  Then, I carried my load of supplies up to homeroom.  As I sat down in Room 1, I got to chat with my classmates.  I had nothing to worry about.  The girls seemed to understand that I was nervous, and I quickly felt like we were old friends. When it was time for Dr. Bohlin to speak, I was much more relaxed.

 Next was the “handshake ceremony,” a long line of teachers and students waiting to greet the new people.  It was great, and I loved how I got to meet girls from the whole school.   Following this, everyone got together with their advisors.  I had a fun “family advising” meeting with banana chocolate-chip muffins and a few rounds of Apples to Apples.  The day just kept getting better.  Soon after, my “A” Day classes began.  I started to get worried again, but I reminded myself of how great the day had already been.  ALL of the teachers turned out to be fine, and even though I had homework to complete, I felt great!. The day ended with a presentation by Student Government that was hilarious!  Then, I packed up my books and went home, excited for a new day at Montrose.