Junior Maggie Balogh’s unexpected injury ironically allowed her to make new friends.
During Maggie’s freshman year of high school, she was attending a rehearsal for Bandtasia. The water breaks during rehearsals were scarce, and Maggie became dehydrated.
“I got really dehydrated and with the lights on the stage,” Maggie said, “I passed out, got a really bad concussion, and broke my tooth.”
Receiving a concussion is not an ideal way to begin at a new school, but fortunately, it is what actually helped Maggie to become more integrated into FHC.
Maggie had recently moved to Michigan when her accident occurred, so she had not made many friends up to that point. Many who witnessed the accident became concerned for her well-being, thus leading to them checking in on her.
“Because of [my accident], I made more friends,” Maggie said. “No one really knew me up until that point. And then they were like, ‘Is she okay?’ Then I made some more friends from that. Because they were like, ‘Did she die? Is she alright?’”
Thankfully, Maggie suffered no permanent damage. One positive benefit was that she was able to meet a close friend. After the accident, junior Eshana Kaur checked in on Maggie to ensure that she was okay, and they have been inseparable since then.
Maggie was no stranger to moving when she and her family made the trek from Wisconsin to Michigan. Her family lived in her first house for 13 years, but then they had to move to a different area of Wisconsin because the house was no longer in good shape. Less than one year later, Maggie’s parents informed her that they were going to move across the Midwest and come to Michigan.
“My parents told us that we had to move to Michigan, and I genuinely thought they were joking at first, and then they weren’t, [so] I started crying,” Maggie said. “It was also during COVID-19 that they told us. We moved [to a different spot in Wisconsin] three months before we went into lockdown.”
It is inarguable that moving to a new state—away from everything and everyone someone have ever known—is difficult. Moving during a time when the world is shut down is simply unfathomable. It was difficult for Maggie to integrate into FHC because there were many precautions being taken to decrease the spread of COVID-19.
It was also a difficult transition because most people already had friend groups from middle school. The band at FHC was one of the things that helped Maggie become a part of a friend group.
“Because of COVID, freshman year was weird,” Maggie said. “It was a little bit more difficult to get to know people, and everyone already had friends from middle school. I think the band helped just because it was a large pool of different people. I could get to know people from that which gave me an initial friend group.”
Maggie’s newfound friends poke fun at some of the words that are used in Wisconsin that are unheard of here in Michigan. Maggie will use a seemingly normal word and will receive weird looks from others who have never heard these words used before. She also was surprised when she learned of some of the words used in Michigan that were not used in Wisconsin.
“[In Michigan,] you use [the word] water fountain,” Maggie said. “In Wisconsin, you say bubbler. I’ll say that I have to go to the bubbler. And they’re like, ‘What are you talking about?’ Also pop, that’s not a thing in Wisconsin. It’s just soda. People [in Michigan] always say soda pop, and I’m like, ‘that’s disgusting.’”
There are many differences in the typical culture of Wisconsin compared to Michigan, despite their close proximity to each other. These differences have caused Maggie to receive some weird looks when she uses a word not typically used in Michigan.
Maggie has adjusted well to living in Michigan, regardless of the differences between the two states. She has integrated well into the student body at FHC and advises students who may be new to a school to participate in as many activities as possible.
“Moving during high school can be hard, but joining activities will help,” Maggie said. “Finding a good group of friends in the beginning, even if they change over time, is helpful.”
