The Ins and Outs of High School (Freshman vs. Senior)
written by Rachel Hesse
Walking into a new school where teachers, classes and faces are unknown, and sometimes hostile, is intimidating. It is easy for those new to the high school scene to envy seniors returning for their last year of high school with familiar surroundings and a solid base of friends. However, freshmen may have more in common with seniors than they realize.
Freshmen face a number of challenges in acclimating to high school. Social fears rank the highest. Taylor Young, a freshman at Skyline High School in Longmont, CO, said, "I was a little afraid my friends would do the same thing they did when we started middle school: start ignoring me."
It is daunting to try to be accepted, or at the least left unharrassed, by upperclassmen. Rachel Ryan from Teen Advice Online suggested taking at least one advanced class to meet people in a higher grade. This opens up news venues for meeting other people and gives freshmen a resource for learning about the quirks of their new school. This year Young took geometry, a class that was only about half freshmen, and she was surprised that the upperclassmen were welcoming. When freshmen share a commonality with upperclassmen, they tend to see freshmen more as equals.
At the same time, freshmen struggle be disciplined and balance time wisely. According to the Princeton Review, freshman year performance directly affects college admission decisions. Colleges see that if someone excels as a freshman, he or she will be more likely to succeed in other areas of life.
Surprisingly enough, seniors tend to struggle in the same areas as freshmen, although in different ways. Bethany Hampton, senior at Niwot High School in Niwot, CO, said, "We're more mature because of the things that have happened to us in the past years, but we're not exactly smarter." In other words, seniors have an array of challenges that many freshmen are unaware of.
Seniors are faced with the challenge of preparing for college, although their task is in the more immediate future. According to information in a press release from the U.S. Department of Education, a college degree today is equivalent to what a high school diploma used to be. In other words, graduating from high school is no longer enough economically.
Unfortunately, seniors are tempted to let the senior itch take ahold of them. Scott Sanchez, a math teacher at Niwot High School works with over 100 seniors every year. He said, "The biggest mistake a senior can make is to lose focus. Don't be in such a hurry to get out of high school-everything works out in the end. Take things seriously."
From dealing with social pressures to remembering the future, freshmen and seniors have more in common than they realize. While passing one another in the hallways, freshmen and seniors should remember that in many ways they are both at the same place.
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