The Humans of RV project is a weekly column based off of Brandon Stanton’s seminal “Humans of New York” project, which seeks to “catalogue the city’s inhabitants” through photography and brief interviews. RV seeks to expand on this project with our own “cataloguing” of RV students and an examination into all the unique perspectives here at school. 

Before going to RV freshman year, I went to a small, close-knit school. It had taken me awhile to find myself and a solid group of friends there, and when I had finally settled in, I found myself moving to Lumberton. 

Just two months after hearing of the move, my family and I made our way to our new home. Moving from one house to another while maintaining school work was mentally taxing, as I had to drive almost half an hour to and from school every day. The distance from my old friends and the new house slowly drove apart my friends and me, as we were too far to be together.

I spent my summer before freshman year in misery and alone. Everyone described the summer of 2019 as “the best summer,” but, as I had attended my old school for the remainder of my eighth-grade year, I wasn’t able to branch out and meet new people in Lumberton. What had been a positive and memorable time for others, was a stressful and worrisome time for me.

Going into RV that September, I was alone. Just as I had in my old school, I had to start from scratch and build a new group of friends. I started the year anxious, worried I wouldn’t be able to make friends and fit in. To make matters worse, I was placed in a biology class full of sophomores.

However, it may have been one of the best experiences as a new student. I met some of my closest friends in that class, as well as in my French class. Before I knew it, I was joining the marching band and finding my place in RV.

Although it took time, I found myself loving RV and making the friends I needed the most during this transition. With this experience, I learned that building the courage to talk to and meet new people is worth it because of the chance of making new, lifelong friends.