It’s a brand new year, and with it comes new faces. Coming out of eighth grade and moving into ninth, many freshmen are bewildered and anxious about their years to come. Hoping for the best, but expecting the worst, many freshmen are both socially and physically lost. Many new students will have the common misconception that they will not find a place to fit in, in the school’s enormous social environment or the imposing physical campus. We wanted to voice their opinion on their first impression of the school.

Photo by Sydney Pearce

Freshman Peter Parakul, a cornerback for the ninth grade football team, expressed his frights regarding the school year.

“It’s much bigger than anything I’ve done before and I might get lost, but it’ll be a fun challenge,” said Parakul.

Photo by Sydney Pearce

Freshman Lily Moser believed in her prosperous years to come. She voiced her fears and premonitions about the school.

“I thought the campus was really pretty, and all of the teachers I’ve met so far have been really nice. However, I was very nervous because the school is really big. I felt incredibly small. I got lost very often and was late to most of my classes, which is kind of embarrassing,” said Moser.

The freshmen told of their hopes and goals for their first year and the years beyond. Peter held some high hopes for his first expedition into high school.

“[I hope] to get good grades, do good on the football team, have fun, keep a 4.0 GPA, and to just get into a good college after graduating with flying colors,” said Parakul.

Moser talked about her hopes and fears and what she thought of the campus.

“I’m focused on my grades this year and staying organized. I want to end this year with hopefully As and Bs because I want to start high school really well. I’m working hard on keeping myself organized, doing my homework, and staying on top of things. I don’t want to stay up really late like I did last year,” said Moser.

Regardless of lost sleep or poor organization, some freshmen dream of what it’s like to be a senior and be almost done with high school mayhem. Parakul recalled some of his goals for getting to his senior year.

“I know I’m going to keep playing football, and I hope to see myself as a 4.0 GPA student and to follow in the footsteps of my two big sisters,” said Parakul.

Moser also has many dreams for herself as a senior and hopes to fulfill those goals by the time she graduates.

“As a senior, I want to help out the freshmen, tell them where to go if they get lost, and kind of be there for them. I want to be like my brother’s group of friends since they were always there to help me out,” said Moser.

While some freshmen have thoughts racing around in their mind at top speed, these struggles seem to be forgotten by upperclassmen. Between studying for college preparation exams and working on college applications, many juniors and seniors have their own problems to attend to. However, that does not mean that they do not remember their own struggles as freshmen. Upperclassmen are very sympathetic and are willing to help the new freshman class as they reminisce about their past experiences and mistakes.