Sophomore Rebekah Andrews sits in front of room AJ111 during the first-ever meeting of the Only One Club on Dec. 15. She addresses all the new members with confidence, telling them that the goal of the club is to allow the members to have fun and be themselves.
Andrews first came up with the idea to start the club when she saw a girl crying in the hallway. When she asked what was wrong, the girl told her not to worry and that she didn’t want to talk about it. To Andrews, her words held a deeper meaning.
“To me, that was just her being scared and thinking that I wasn’t someone that she could trust to talk to,” Andrews said. “It made me think this club would be a good idea for people to just come and know that it’s a safe place.”
French teacher Ms. Margaret Leach agrees with this sentiment, and that is the reason she decided to sponsor the club.
“I thought it sounded like a good idea,” Ms. Leach said. “I really like the concept and I think a lot of people can feel comfortable here so I’m hoping the word spreads.”
Andrews hopes that the club will grow and become a safe place for students of Legacy and beyond.
“I was very nervous but it went better than I thought. I thought people would still be really shy and not talk to anyone, but they’re starting to talk to one another even though they don’t know each other,” Andrews said. “I hope that it won’t just be here at this school. I want it to branch out, and for other schools to hear about it and start their own.”
Members of the club were pleased with the way the first meeting went. Junior Faith Inofomoh decided to attend the club after seeing one of the posters in the hallway.
“I saw the poster and thought ‘This sounds like a cool club’ so I decided to come today,” Inofomoh said. “I think it will [help me] show my self-confidence and build up my self-esteem.”
Andrews has plans for the future of the club, such as assigning everybody a buddy to talk to and get to know better. Her main hope is that the people in attendance will all grow more comfortable with each other so that they may express themselves in a positive, nonjudgemental environment.
“People always feel different but they never want to be themselves a lot because they’re too afraid of being judged,” Andrews said. “I just want them to know that that’s not really the case.”
