I’ve dealt with many things in my life, just like everyone
around me. I have been altered by these events and I often
define myself by things that have happened to me. Though it is
cliché, I am more than what I’ve gone through, and I really do
not want people to create an idea of what kind of person I am solely
based on these moments. It is often easier not to share memories, because
it allows me to be my own person, instead of a person who is
stereotyped by what has happened to them. I believe in using privacy to be
my own person.
My first day at Saints, I was extremely nervous. It sounds pretty
typical, but middle school really had not been easy for me. I think it’s like
that for a lot of people. Going to a new school allowed me to break out of
the shell I had made for myself-an awkward, shy, and
unconfident person. Anyway, during my first days, people often shared
their eighth grade memories, and I found myself keeping my mouth
shut. Everyone was making friends, and connecting with people because of
things that had happened in their life, like playing the same sport, or seeing
the same band in concert. I remember all the getting to know you games we
played. I was so uncomfortable, going around to random strangers and telling about them myself. Why
would I share my memories, which sometimes weren’t very positive, with people I
barely knew? For once, I wasn’t being shy; instead, I was choosing to
keep quiet about the past me so I could actually be the new
me.
I realized that being private wasn’t really a bad thing. Instead,
it gave me the chance to decide who I really wanted to share intimate
information with. Why would I want to share personal stuff with people I’m not
really personal with? I think this has affected me in both a positive and
negative way. Because I was private about my memories, nobody made
judgements on who I was as a freshman based on who I was as an eighth
grader, and I was able to make relationships based on new experiences, not old
ones. So in a positive way, I met the friends that I am really close to
now. In a negative way, I probably missed out on some relationships because of
my privacy towards myself. But I don’t really regret this-I value my privacy
and will not give it up in the future easily for a person I may or may not end
up trusting.
I think a lot of people can find value in privacy. It gave me
confidence, because if so few people were privy to my personal memories, then
the majority of people could not judge me on who I used to be. I think privacy
made me more confident, which sounds ironic. Private people are seen as closed
off and quiet, but I think privacy allowed me to open up. I didn’t have to
share my thoughts and feelings like everyone around me seemed to do growing up.
I was able to talk, without having to sacrifice my privacy.
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