From spontaneously singing “Mistletoe” by Justin Bieber to wearing white Crocs with socks to school, Kristin LeBlanc (12) is notorious for her off-the-wall antics. As a Harker student since middle school, she remembers her sixth grade years with a sheepish smile.

“I had bangs and I wore pants like jeans from the men’s section,” she said, laughing. “And I wore those ‘Life is Good’ shirts, do you know what I’m talking about? It was a rough time, and I wore the same thing every day for free dress, while every other kid brought out their sparkly Converse. Harker sweatshirt, man jeans, tennis shoes. Every time.”

Since sixth grade, she’s learned to positively use her “awkwardness” to become more comfortable in her own skin.

“I’m still very awkward, but I think I’ve channeled it to be more outgoing,” Kristin said.

For example, sixth grade Kristin would never have expected to try performing arts: a far cry from softball, the sport she’s played since age eight.

“During sixth grade music class, I was the quiet one and I wouldn’t sing at all,” Kristin said. “I would just mouth the words. And now, I auditioned for [and got a spot in] SDS [Student Directed Showcase]. I’ve never done any performing arts thing in my life, like voluntarily, and it scares me, but it was a lot of fun to try out.”

Roxana Pianko, Kristin’s advisor and sophomore year History teacher, has witnessed Kristin’s development since freshman year.

“She adds humor and a funny component to everything,” Pianko said. “I think that she knows how to bring a little bit of laughter into the mix, which is great.”

She sends memes in group chats; she hurdles traffic cones; she overlays kiwis onto people’s faces using Photoshop. According to her friends, the antics go on and on.

“Just the other day, Kristin told me about how she spent the entire evening watching Vine compilations with her dad, Marcel [LeBlanc],” her close friend Jenna Sanders (12) said.

According to Kristin, these random actions have become part of her identity.

“There are a lot of things that I do that are very questionable, but it’s not as questionable because I’ve set this tone that I’m just going to do random stuff,” she said. “I just do me, and I think people have learned to accept that.”

Kate Schafer, Kristin’s junior and senior year science teacher, called Kristin a “breath of fresh air.”

“I really love and appreciate that she’s willing to talk about things and ask questions and be inquisitive about things that other people might feel uncomfortable talking about,” Schafer said.

In fact, Kristin formed some of her closest friendships by taking risks without fear of judgment.

“I don’t mind sitting with random people at lunch or just talking to kids,” she said. “A lot of my friends, I’ve just made them by talking to random people. I’m not afraid to make fun of myself.”

Over the four years of high school, Kristin has learned to become comfortable with the uncomfortable.

“When I was a freshman and I was walking around, I was basically just like, ‘Okay, don’t get hurt, like I don’t want any of the older kids to like make fun of me.’ I was just like kind of, ‘Don’t be seen, just go through the motions, and put your head down,’” Kristin said. “Once I got to sophomore year, I realized that you’re not going to have any fun if you care about what other people think. I know it’s cheesy, but I pretty much have taken that to the extreme and I’ve gone full-on crazy person. But you know, I guess that’s who I am now as a person.”