Reflective Essay

I have had many different labels throughout my life but the two that have stuck out the most in my memory are completely contrasting: “painfully shy” and “overly-confident” they were both written by teachers of mine in the space of one year. The year that changed my life, the year that transformed my personality, the year that made me happy.
When I moved schools I was forced to make friends quickly and the pressure to “fit in” and become part of my year group was unbelievable. This sparked off a side of me I had never seen before. Surprised as I was at my behaviour I have not looked back.
Having spent ten years of my life in the shadow of my brothers being pushed into an alien environment of having to make new friends was daunting and something I never thought I could cope with. I had been labeled for the first half of my life painfully shy: I remember when I was six the hall in our house was being painted I hid under my brother’s cot...