Freshmen Reflection

Mai-Thanh Nguyen, Staff Writer

High school. It entails numerous challenges and new experiences, including new teachers, schedule and friends. Freshmen have accomplished one of the most difficult years of high school, so now it’s time to reflect back.

 

Sabrina Terando, a freshmen at Vista del Lago High School, reflects back on her freshmen year as a fusion of emotions, including stress and excitement. “Freshmen year went by really fast. I worked my butt off to get where I am this year.  The amount of stress I had throughout this year about grades, tests and other extracurricular activities that I was doing really harmed me and my health…However, as the year progressed I was able to learn how to deal with it better. I am still working on it, but it is a lot better than it was.  This improvement in my mental health helped me with my studies and I was able to take control of my life and grades again,” said Terando.

 

Due to the significant differences in teaching from middle school, academics is typically one of the most challenging aspect of high school. Fortunately, Terando believes much of the effort she has put into her school work throughout freshmen year has led to her all A grades.

 

Grades and academics are only a small portion of the high school experience. Social aspects, such as a friends, clubs, and school activities, play an even bigger role in shaping one’s outlook on high school.

 

Freshmen at Vista believe that social life played a massive role during freshmen year, including both Marisa Ritchie and Izzy Thome.

 

“I really liked my first year of high school. It was much more than I was expecting. I met a lot of new friends and had really good teachers and classes,” said Ritchie.

 

Thome agrees “I think freshman year went really good. I had a lot of fun experiences like the parade and all the dances and after school activi. ties. I also really liked our rallies. High school is better than I thought it would be because everyone gets along a lot better than I thought they would.”

 

Chiara McKenna, another freshman at Vista, agrees that a highlight of her freshmen year was discovering new friends and meeting new people.

 

With new challenges also comes more self reflection. “If I could change one thing this year, it would be my preparation for high school’”  said Terando. “I did not feel prepared in the beginning of the year.  I felt thrown under the water with my classes and was drowning with my workload, especially that from Honors Chemistry.  I would have definitely studied a lot more during summer break, done even more work than I was doing, and really made sure that I was ready for my classes. If I had done that I would not nearly have the stress levels that I do now and my freshmen year would have flowed nicer.  Although I struggled due to my lack of preparation, I am very glad I had to go through this as I would never have learned how much I need to prepare for the school year and I will most definitely be over prepared for my future years.”

 

Similarly, Ritchie believes she could have achieved a better grade in certain classes. “If I could fix anything, I probably should have worked a little harder in some classes to get a better grade , but other than that it was an awesome freshman year,” said Ritchie.

 

High school has become one of the most notorious experiences in our society, specifically during freshmen year. Numerous changes from middle school create challenges in both academic and social areas of life. However, with change also comes self development, growth, and preparation for the future.