Ella Zhang is currently a junior enrolled at pioneer

“I’ve always been shy, but in such a big school like Pioneer, you can find your group. Over my time at Pioneer I have started to open up because I participate in Orchestra, Swim, and Science Olympiad. If I was giving a message to a shy freshman coming into Pioneer it would be, I know it’s scary to approach people, but joining clubs or teams is an easy way to talk to people because you all have the same interest. You also don’t have to be great at something to participate in it either, for example, I’m not great at swimming, but the people in swim are the people I want to talk to. If I see someone who seems quiet or nervous I will try to go over and talk to them because I know how it feels. Going out of your way to reach out to a shy person has always been a rare action, but I feel it is a more glaring issue with our generation. As a result of social media, people have created a persona of themselves that they share with the public. They often don’t want to break this persona, so they will remain in the boundaries of their own social group. That is why as a shy person you have to summon the courage to be proactive and join a group. No matter who you are, everything in life becomes so much easier when you have a friend to talk to.”