With the school year coming to a close, freshmen are starting to prepare for their sophomore year. The end of the academic calendar is also a time for reflection on the school year. Many freshmen are currently reflecting on their first year of high school and their thoughts at the beginning of the year.

Every freshman is new to the high school at the beginning of each year, and usually have no idea what is happening. “I remember running around the halls and panicking trying to find each class at Freshman Orientation,” says current freshman Siena Palese. She adds, “The layout of the school is so hard to adapt to, and for me, that was the scariest thing about starting high school.”

Once students reach the high school, everything starts to “count” toward college, even though it should be the last thing on student’s minds. Freshman Shanah Goddard recalls that, “I started freaking out every time I got a bad grade. I thought that because of this bad grade, I was not going to get into college.  Now, I’ve realized that our freshman grades are not going to mean everything in the future. I still study hard, but I’m no longer obsessed with grades.”

Another common fear that freshmen have is that the seniors are out to get them. Freshman Gwen Moyer says, “Like in every high school movie, I thought the seniors were going to pick on us because we were the youngest in the school. Honestly, the seniors and freshmen don’t really interact during the school day, and for the most part, they aren’t that bad.  As long as you don’t sit at the round tables at lunch, which are reserved for seniors, you have nothing to worry about.”

Incoming freshmen had also gotten used to the middle school’s four day schedule. At the start of high school, they were introduced to the complex seven day schedule, where one class each day is “dropped”. Freshman Adeline Van Buskirk says, “I received my schedule online and just kind of stared at it. I had no idea what any of it meant, or how I was going to memorize it.” When reflecting on this year, she says, “I caught onto it so quickly, I can’t even remember why I was so confused about it at first.”

“If you have absolutely no idea what is going on, that is completely normal,” says freshman Riley Potter. “By the end of the year, any fear I may have had the first month of school is completely gone.”