Imagine walking through an unfamiliar hallway seeing tons of new faces every direction you look. Imagine peering down at your schedule frantically looking for your biology classroom; frantically looking for a familiar face, but being disappointed when you have no possible idea as to where you are and you don’t recognize a single person. Senior Teddy Khnanisho lived in this exact fear when he moved to Niles West High School during his freshman year.
“I moved here from the north side of Chicago. I was a city boy. I grew up roaming the streets and witnessing fights; hell, I grew up being in fights. It was easy to be in the wrong place at the wrong time back where I used to live. I was out all hours of the night playing basketball and football with people I probably shouldn’t have been associating myself with. I was trying my best to be a kid and have a good time, even if the living situation wasn’t necessarily the best,” Khnanisho said.
Khnanisho was lonely, though.
“Back in the city, I sometimes felt lonely but I was never physically alone. I didn’t have one group of friends, I was friends with everyone. When I moved here though, I didn’t just feel lonely anymore, I was alone,” he said.
For Khnanisho, walking into the cafeteria every day was by far the hardest part.
“I remember this one time at lunch and I was with a girl. I got up to walk away to go talk to a teammate and she said, ‘Who are you?’ and so I introduced myself and she just looked at me and said ‘Oh, okay bye.’ Hearing that from her made me feel like I wasn’t even the slightest bit welcome at this school. Why would any of these people care enough to be my friend?” He said.
Everything was so different. The friendships, the school rules, the way that people dressed.
“I came from wearing uniforms everyday to being very cautious of what colors I chose to wear. Back at home, a lot of people couldn’t afford nice clothes so it was all about what fit, not what looked nice. It was different here. Everyone was so well dressed, so put together, everyone looked happy,” he stated.
To try and form a few friendships, Khnanisho decided to try out for football his freshman year.
“At first, I didn’t feel welcome on the team. It felt like all of these guys had known each other forever and I was just this new outcast. Some kids took the time to get to know me but I didn’t feel like we could really connect right away. People viewed me as a city boy that they see on TV shows and movies. That’s when I realized I really wasn’t exactly sure how to make friends,” he said.
Although it was hard to make friends on the football team right away, he still managed to make friends eventually; some who are even still close to him to this day.
“I met [senior] Myreon Flowers on the field and he was really the only one who took personal time to get to truly know me. We hung out for most of the season and felt amazing to finally have a friend that I connected with,” Khnanisho said. “Eventually we sort of fell off though; we would talk here and there but it wasn’t every single day like before. Either way, I am confident when I say that he was my first real friend at Niles West and to this day I am still very thankful.”
Unfortunately, with football came injuries and Khnanisho got to experience that one first hand.
“On October 6th, 2012 we had our homecoming football game against New Trier. I tore my UCL in my left elbow that day. My football season was over in the blink of an eye. I couldn’t straighten out my arm for three months and I was in a sling all hours of the day. That didn’t want to make me give up football though; it only made me eager to want to come back and play again. The doctors told me I needed surgery for it and the recovery time around 6-9 months. Being 14 years old and new to this school, I was absolutely terrified. That’s when I started putting in the countless hours of extensive physical therapy to work my way back to full strength” he said.
However, Khnanisho’s elbow pain wasn’t the only pain he experienced in high school.
“High school started to get harder. I started losing the few friends that I had made, and my grades were falling apart at the seams. I was stressed out at home and it was taking it’s toll due to everything else that was going on. I lost my safe haven and I wasn’t sure where to find a new one,” Khnanisho said.
Sophomore year, during the midst of all of these hardships Khnanisho was going through, he met a girl who changed everything for him.
“She was beautiful, loving, smart, athletic, and everything that I felt like I needed. We met at a football game and I recognized her from the lunch room. I always caught her staring at me, but I can’t say that I wasn’t staring back. From that moment, everything fell into place. She became a friend, then my best friend, and next thing I know, I’m falling in love for the first time,” he said.
They dated for a few months up until his family found out.
“They said I was ‘too young’ to be in a relationship, so we broke up. We broke up and I realized that I just couldn’t let this girl go. I needed to have her in my life in some way. She was supportive and helped me through some of the most difficult times I’ve ever experienced. She understood what I was going through,” he said. “We don’t talk much anymore but I know that she’s there for me and time will tell if we are meant to meet again.”
Thankfully, Khnanisho’s high school life has been a huge learning experience. He learned how to fend for himself and how to be himself at all times no matter what. He realized that he wasn’t alone.
“I have taken a lot out of my four years here at Niles West. I’ve learned to always look to better yourself and always be there for people when they need it. I’ve learned to stay true to your word and to be a leader,” Khnanisho said. “People are always watching, and when they see you doing all of the right things, they will catch and you will be respected. Never give up on your dreams and most importantly, never give up on who you love.”