Back At The Bottom Dropping Down The Ladder To Freshman Status Isn’t Easy
High school can be a scary experience for anybody, but especially for a freshman. High school is a whole new world filled with many more people, new opportunities and pressures.
Perhaps the first concern of a new freshman is initiation. Think about it: Eighth grade, you’re ruling the school, a real cool person. Then, as a frosh, you’re at the bottom of the ladder. It’s a huge step … down.
“When you get into eighth grade you’re just getting used to having everyone look up to you,” says Gonzaga Prep sophomore Katie Arnold. “Then you get into high school and it’s just the opposite really fast.”
The situation can be made even worse if you have an older sibling at your new school. Even though they love you - deep down inside that is - they probably wouldn’t miss a chance to humiliate you in public.
“I have an older sister who is a senior,” says Demetrius Scott, an incoming freshman at North Central. “I am kind of scared that she and her older friends will try to make a joke out of me.”
You can bet on it, Demetrius.
Often students are aware - and usually very scared - of the initiation pranks they fear are about to come their way. The night before the first day of school, pictures of duct tape and mean seniors dance in their heads. Oh what to do, maybe you should stay home… No way!
In fact, the true humiliation of being a frosh does not pass with the first day, or even the first week. All year you have to say, “I’m a freshman (couldn’t be prouder?).” At some schools, the seniors opt to wait for the end of the year to perform their initiation acts. Sort of as if to say, “Hey, you made it through the first year, now get ready for three more.”
After the fear of seniors passes, the fear of not being able to make friends often sets in. You suddenly go from your cozy junior high where you know everyone to an unfamiliar school where almost everyone is a stranger. It can be intimidating, but fear not!
Freshman year is a great time to make new friends, join new clubs and find out what your interests and talents are.
“I think the more you get involved as a freshman, the better time you’ll have in high school,” said Post Falls High School senior Heidi Strobel. “(Being involved) will help you be less tempted to get into trouble and you’ll make more friends.
“You need to find your interests because if you get in something you don’t like, it will make it worse,” she added. “Freshman year is a great time to find out exactly what it is you like.”
It’s also a time to buckle down and get to work. Believe it or not, some incoming freshmen set getting good grades as a priority, and having homework nearly every night is often hard for some students to adapt to.
“It is strange entering high school because the workload increases greatly,” said Prep senior Becca Tevenan. “At first it’s confusing, but after a while you learn to pace yourself and get a work schedule. You realize you better get used to it because you have four years.”
Being a high school student brings about changes, and more than likely, more freedom as well. It is easy to get demanding with your parents and disagreements don’t usually help teens get what they want. In fact, arguing with them usually makes things worse.
Central Valley senior Angela Johnson offers this advice: Be patient with your parents and respect them. Freedom will come in time, but you have to work with your parents (not against them).
Change is all around us, and entering high school is one of the biggest changes that occurs in a teen’s life.
But remember, life without change would be rather dull. So have no fear you freshmen-to-be. Put on your fave new outfit, plaster an “I-am-a-confident-freshman” smile on your face, and have fun.