Opinion

My first impression as a high school freshman

Many middle school kids compare high school to the various movies that have been made to represent what it is like. Most of the movies that I have watched have not done a good job showing what high school really is. My first impression when I first entered high school was that I will probably…
<a href="https://highschool.latimes.com/author/leahstark/" target="_self">Leah Stark</a>

Leah Stark

September 7, 2017

Many middle school kids compare high school to the various movies that have been made to represent what it is like. Most of the movies that I have watched have not done a good job showing what high school really is.

My first impression when I first entered high school was that I will probably be in classes with most of my friends and know a lot of the kids in my grade, unfortunately I was wrong. When I got to school in the morning on the first day I realized how large the school was, and how many students went there. The size of the school alone was intimidating, and very easy to get lost in.

When I got to my first class I had not a single friend in the class, and I only vaguely recognized two or three people (now when I get to classes every day I realize how many new friends I have made). I also did not realize how many middle school students matriculated from.

Stress is one word that I would use describe high school with. Stress, I used to think that I knew what stress was but now I realize that I didn’t. Within the first two weeks of school I was already swamped with homework, tests/quizzes, and essays. Before high school I had a pop quiz maybe once, but now I am having them every week!

I did not know my backpack could carry so much, because I have had to stuff it with all my textbooks, binders, spirals, dictionaries, and a bunch of random papers. My backpack feels like it has 50 bricks inside it!

In middle school I used to always have so much free time, and now if I ever get time to myself it is cherished. I have never been so tired in my life because in middle school my homework used to just an hour. Now, I am doing homework from when I get home until five or six at night.

I always underestimated how hard it would be to get into my dream college, Yale, but now I idolize the people whom have gotten in and the work they must have done to get in. But, no amount of work/effort will stop me from trying to get in. Whenever I was absent from school I used to enjoy sleeping in and not having to do any work, but now I would come to school with a broken neck just so I don’t have to miss anything.

Although there are some downsides to high school, there are also some positive things that come with it. In middle school one was basically in a cage with only a limited amount of freedom and now in high school one is able to be free to do what ever floats their boat.

I am loving the way that teachers treat students as adults and don’t speak to me like I am a 6-year-old. One of the best part of high school is the millions of clubs offered ranging from a Great Films Club to a community service club.

One of the main things keeping me going in high school is the thought of college and learning new things. All I can think to myself is, “Ace this test for Yale,” or “Go above and beyond on this essay for college.”

I look forward to each day of school because I know that there is more information for me to acquire and sometimes mistakes to learn from. I always keep any comment or suggestion, from a teacher or student, in the back of my mind to help me in the future.

One of the most important parts of high school is the knowledge you gain and the friends you make.

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it,” this is the most high-school relatable quote that Ferris Bueller says in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” This was the one bit of advice people gave me that stood out; enjoy high school and don’t just stress too much about it.

Scholar-athlete Cody Going: off to Division 1

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Cody Going has been in Mission Viejo high school’s football program, a team ranked number four in California by MaxPreps, for five long years. From his time in eighth grade to now he’s been able to see the athletes at Mission Viejo High grow from teammates to a...