By Mikaela Arce

We upperclassmen all know the feeling – that first day of high school feeling. Your legs are shaking, your palms are sweaty, your voice cracks when you try to ask someone which hallway your class is in. You’re trying your best to trick everyone into thinking you’re not nervous by wearing your brand new “first day of school outfit” but it only fails miserably due to the fact that you’ve been branded by your squeaky clean orange lanyard as a freshman. You’re trying to make a good first impression by bringing your books to class but you don’t need them so you’re awkwardly carrying around way too much stuff – making yourself look like even more of an unprepared freshman.

Thankfully the feeling doesn’t last forever; you learn the ropes, you find your niche, and the transition from middle school to high school is over. The transition feels much longer than one would think, unfortunately. Scrambling to all your classes is a rushed daze, trying to keep up your grade so you can keep up with your extra-curricular’s; it’s hard work. It’s also a lot to take on not even considering some of the other obstacles. “The worst part is probably that there are a lot more people. At my last school there were only about a thousand kids, but here it’s pretty much tripled and it’s kinda crazy,” said Ian Sammer, freshman.

High school simultaneously makes itself about settling into a new routine while also moving away from the familiar. Familiar people, places, things, and faces have suddenly been misplaced and you’re practically engulfed in a new world. The people you once thought you would stay with forever become strangers and you slowly part on your separate ways; it happens. The things you once enjoyed on a regular basis seem more foreign than familiar; you grow up. A truly bittersweet goodbye leaving behind your conventional ways, but it’s essential to the advancement; it’s a sad reality, but yes, you’re becoming an adult. On the bright side of growing up, you finally start getting treated like you are growing up. “High school is better than middle school because you get more freedom here; the teachers actually treat you more like you’re an adult than a kid, I like it,” said Isabella McClellan, freshman.

Setting aside all the really heavy stuff, high school is actually a ton of fun once you move past everything. Most upperclassmen would agree that probably the best part about being in high school is finding something you like and being able to do it everyday. “There’s a lot to choose from, and once you’re in one you make a lot of friends; it’s like becoming part of a big family with your best friends,” said Isabella McClellan, freshman. So whether you’re in football, band, dance, or even bowling you’re bound to fit in somewhere.