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Big-Hearted Bigsby


High school usually consists of the same type of people: same clothes, same hair styles and the same attitudes. Students at this age all blend together and act the same exact way.

Junior Melissa Bigsby contradicts all of that.

High school students usually hang out with friends on the weekends, go to parties or lay around the house doing absolutely nothing.

Bigsby would rather do things she enjoys.

“I like listening to records. I think they have a lot of character. On Sundays, I volunteer at The Cat House, a no-kill shelter ran entirely on donations and compassion,” Bigsby said. “I love being around such intelligent and diverse creatures.”

Bigsby has her own unique style. Unlike most other high school students, she doesn’t conform to what everyone else is wearing. She takes pride in her own style and embraces who she really is.

“I wear what I do because it’s what I feel most comfortable in. Neutral colors help me to feel at ease, which helps me get through the day,” Bigsby said.

Stepping away from clothing, Bigsby likes to show her personality in other ways.

“I like to have pinback buttons because it’s a subtle way to show character,” Bigsby said. “It’s just another form of expression.”

Bigsby looks at each person as a person, not an object. She finds the good in each person and doesn’t judge based on looks.

“I like to think I’m quite an open-minded person. I have no desire to be cruel or blindly hateful. I love people unconditionally and will go out of my way anytime to let someone know. I just don’t want anyone to feel like they’re alone, if I can help it,” Bigsby said.

In most high school situations, if you’re not like everyone else, then you really don’t seem to matter. Bigsby wishes that other students would do the same.

“Some days it’s hard because I feel completely alone among a sea of so many narrow-minded people. Not everyone is like that, but it’s really overwhelming,” Bigsby said. “I don’t really mind because I like to listen rather than talk.”

Bigsby is all about helping out in anyway she can. As her future comes into the light little by little, she is starting to think about what path is best for her.

“I’m not totally sure, but I might do something with conservation or environmental science, forestry or wildlife rehabilitation,” Bigsby said. “I think it’s majorly important to actively work toward conserving natural resources and protecting species of all kinds. Plants and animals are really neat, and there’s so much to learn from them.”

Location isn’t an issue to Bigsby, but somewhere out of her hometown seems promising.

“Right now, I’m unsure. Somewhere in Washington or Colorado, maybe even New York University,” Bigsby said.

As high school is coming to a close, Bigsby is starting to think about how she would like to be remembered in a few years. Being lost in the clutter of hundreds of students, she hopes to be remembered as something simple: herself.

“I hope to be remembered as somebody who cares. Someone who isn’ discriminative and doesn’t want to leave anybody out. I know how hard it is to cope with feeling lonely,” Bigsby said.

Bigsby has really tapped into what really matters in high school: being yourself and forgetting about the social media drama. High school students can learn a lot from Bigsby and start to learn who they really are.

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