Moving on Up to New Hampshire

Moving can be intimidating and going to a new school can be scary. Everyone hopes to be welcomed and to be accepted. For sophomore Kelly Anderson the transition to HHS was easier because of her welcome from the volleyball team.

As the team filed into the gym the first day of preseason, we recognized the familiar faces and quickly noticed that there were also some new players. Kelly was not alone; she is one of five new girls this year who play volleyball, including a girl who from France and another from Spain. With so many new players, Kelly blended right in and was instantly sucked into the regular schedule of a Hanover High School volleyball player.

Kelly Anderson is from Westwood, New Jersey, a small town about a half an hour from Newark. She had lived in that town her whole life. When I asked her about her town, she talked most about Hurricane Irene and its effects on her neighborhood when it hit a few years ago. Her town was devastated by the hurricane that slammed New England, but hit New Jersey especially hard. Her father’s beach house was washed away and her town was out of power for a week. There was no heat, no electricity, and no running water.

“It was really devastating seeing a place I used to go to all the time as a kid just completely demolished,” says Kelly. Kelly then stayed in a friend’s house for a week, the only place around that had running water. “It was like the whole town came over to shower,” Kelly mentioned.

Something that didn’t change with her move was the size of the town. Kelly is not from a huge city, so Hanover’s provincial status is not a huge shock to her. The high school, however, has taken some getting used to. Her old school was very strict; hallway roaming wasn’t allowed and bells dictated everyone’s schedule. We have never had bells in the school and a lot of us, including me, sit and roam in the halls all day. Kelly loves how we have freedom and the opportunity to manage our own time. She loves the change and the thing that she really likes is the opportunity to go off campus.

Wise use of time is very important for Kelly since she is taking four honors classes: biology, history, English, and Spanish. She says that she is working hard to try to keep up with everything, and the freedom in her schedule really helps.

When I asked her about her hobbies and interests, she immediately mentioned her horses and how she loves to ride. She also played Softball in New Jersey and intends to continue the sport here. Kelly is hoping to get a job sooner rather than later, and she has had interviews and interest from the Lyme Inn and the Dartmouth Book Store. She hopes to get a job and continue to work there throughout the year.