Madeline Sweeney

Before I came to Carroll, I went to St. Bernadette’s in Drexel Hill. I had my childhood friends and my school friends. Most of the girls that I was friends with went to Carroll for high school so I thought I wouldn’t feel lonely. When I first started going to Carroll, I definitely felt out of place. My freshman year I especially felt that way. All of my friends from my middle school had gone into their own friend groups and even though we would talk here and there I felt like I never had a best friend in school. My sophomore year I started talking more with Alexis Ferris and KJ Johnson. Never in my life did I expect to build the relationship that I have with them now. 

Over the past 3 years, KJ and Lexi have been with me through everything. They’ve seen all my family issues, boy issues, and even my own self-confidence issues. I shared things with them that I never thought I would share with anyone. They each bring out different parts in me. KJ brings out the best in me. She showed me that I’m not always going to have people who care about me and showed me how to be OK with being independent and growing into myself as a young woman. Lexi brings out the fun in me. I have always been an uptight person but when I am with her I can be myself and not care what others think. I do not believe that I would be the person I am today without them. I learned that I don’t need 100 friends or to be popular; all I need are my two closest friends that I can be myself with. 

I am very grateful I chose to go to Carroll, because if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have known them. It’s ironic because the other day KJ and I were talking about how it’s weird that we had a life before we knew one another because now we can’t picture not having each other in our lives. I am grateful to Carroll for introducing me to the two best people in my life.