Inspired by this year’s yearbook theme, the Blue & White staff is celebrating students who “found the silver lining” in challenging situations. The phrase reflects the idea that even dark clouds have a bright edge, symbolizing hope and growth in adversity. Join us each week as we showcase a student or staff member who has shown remarkable optimism and resilience.

One day when she was a teenager, intervention specialist Tara Hartshorn was sitting in her room doing her homework when her parents told her that they would be moving. She got flooded with multiple and many emotions: anger, confusion, annoyance, and helplessness.

“I had to move schools twice, once in 5th grade and freshman year,” Hartshorn said. 

After she moved she had difficulty coping with the emotions she had with moving, but she eventually found her silver lining in her new school by joining the swim team and making friends from there. 

After moving from Windsor, Connecticut, to Pickerington, Ohio, Hartshorn lashed out at her family.

“I was very mean to the people around me, especially my parents,” Hartshorn said. “I spent almost all of my time trying to ignore them and do things that would make their lives difficult.

If they wanted to go somewhere or do something, I would refuse.”

She says she was mean to them for 6 months. Eventually, she realized that she was not happy and was only creating more problems.

“Moving is hard no matter how old you are or how far you move,” Hartshorn said. “Leaving familiar people and places is hard, and it takes time to adjust to new surroundings.”

Things took a turn for the better when she joined the swim team and made new friends.

“Things started to get better when I made a friend who then introduced me to others who became friends,” she said. “Finding friends with whom I could spend time outside of school with help changed her attitude about moving and having to go to a new school.” 

In the end, Hartshorn learned to make the best of a bad situation.

“Sometimes life is difficult, but you need to try to find the silver lining in the situation,” Hartshorn said.