Freshmen Expectations vs Seniors Reality

Homecoming

Homecoming is a different experience for everyone. For some people, it’s all about being the best dressed. Others, it’s about the music or just being there with your friends and having a good time. “Homecoming was pretty loud. I went alone, but I hung out with my friends,” Lila Kurtz, freshman, said. Grade differences aside, most people seemed to make the best of it. “Going to Sonic was probably the best thing about homecoming. I just wore my choir tux and hung out with a bunch of friends,” Hunter Mendoza, senior, said.

 

GPA/Grades

Grades are most students’ biggest worry. Some people can’t live in their parents’ basement playing World of Warcraft all day and working thirty hours week for minimum wage until they’re forty, so we have to at least try in high school. “I kind of expected my grades to be good, but I don’t think I’ll have a very good GPA when I graduate because I’m not the most motivated person ever. It’s pretty difficult getting good grades” Kurtz said. By the time you’re a senior, you’re either more or less motivated to get good grades. There’s really no in between. “I’m doing a lot better off than I thought. My GPA is better than expected. Getting good grades was definitely harder than I thought,” Mendoza said.

 

Graduation

We all look forward to graduating high school. Mr. Wilbert, science teacher, has a poster in his room of a girl in her graduation robe and the caption says, “Congratulations on getting through the easiest part of your life!” Freshman year isn’t really when students begin to think about their future, but we start to get an idea of it. “I’m not sure what graduation will be like. I haven’t thought that far. I’m nervous when I graduate because I won’t see the people I know now since we all have our different career interests,” Chavez said. Seniors look forward to graduation more because they’re closer to it. “I’m PUMPED for graduation. I want to get the millennial chord and not hate myself. I’m going to go to college for psychology and I want to testify in court. I also want to fix the judicial system,” Katie Pudlewski, senior, said.

 

Relationships

Freshman year, making new friends could be difficult because everyone is awkward. New school, new people, new teachers, new schedule. It’s a lot of newness, but it’s important to remember that every other freshman is going through the same thing and everyone is equally confused. “I don’t have any friends from middle school, but I’ve met a few people. I like my teachers, but I wouldn’t consider any of them my friend,” Robert Morris, freshman, said. But all friendships develop over time. “I have way more friends than I thought I would. When I came to high school, I had this tiny middle school group of people and now I only talk to Katie (Pudlewski). I think of my teacher as friends like Mr. Whiteford and Mr. Clingman. If I ever do talk to my friends after high school, it would probably be through Facebook or something. We’re all going our separate ways, so we probably won’t be as close after high school,” Mendoza said.

 

—-Open Campus

The new open campus rule for freshman is new to everyone. It only started this year, but so far, it’s gotten a lot of negative reactions from students from all grade levels. “I don’t think it makes sense why you would want freshman to have a different schedule than the upper classman,” Chavez said. “I think not allowing freshman open campus is stupid. My freshman year, the only that made me feel like a high schooler was open campus. I looked forward to going off campus and taking that away gives them no sense of freedom. If you want them to feel and act like high schoolers, then treat them like high schoolers,” Pudlewski said.