I might only be a freshman at Salida High School but there’s a lot of things I have learned. Transitioning from middle school to high school has its benefits, but it also has its downfalls. It’s scary to walk into the high school on that first day and be surrounded by all of the people that have already been in the high school. It’s an adjustment going from the biggest kids in the school then back to feeling like it’s fifth grade, but with high school drama.
It also really hits you that you’re in high school when you realize you have to learn all of your new teachers’ names. That wasn’t the scariest part, but it definitely gave me a knot in my stomach. Personally, my biggest challenge when I started high school was getting through the hallways without being trampled by high school boys. I’ve learned from then how to navigate the school and get through the crowds, but it definitely was not easy. To add on top of this, no one tells you how bad the cliques actually are in high school. I thought they were bad in middle school, but in high school oh boy… it’s a whole other level of picking your certain groups and staying with only those people or not liking someone by they way they look or present themselves. Personally, I’m not one to be involved with a lot of people in high school for this reason. But in high school, you also slowly find the upperclassmen that you are comfortable talking to or are happy to be complemented by. If you’re really lucky, you will find upperclassmen that give you advice and help you through the way.
The biggest perspective change for me was that you really can tell by this time in your life who has correct manners, or any at all. I think sometimes some of the other high schoolers act rude or try to put up this act to stand out or they truly just don’t have manners. In my opinion, the people that stand out the most are the people that do the simple things. For example, being respectful to the people around you or helping your peers when they look confused… you really get to see how a person acts when you have to spend an hour and 40 minutes with them every day.
It’s so hard in the beginning to get used to sitting in one class for a block. The first week I started high school, I was really struggling with my block classes only because it felt like I had never been with one teacher for such a long amount of time. Eventually, you get used to it, but you also learn to enjoy the time cause you also get to know your teachers which is honestly the best thing to do. You may as well get to know your high school teachers; they are the people that will help get you through high school. I’ve gotten to know some of the teachers, and, so far, I would say that most of them are great people and role models. I can’t wait to get to see the people around me grow up and mature. Some may not even do that until they are out of high school, but I know most of them will. This is my perspective on the reality of your first year of high school and others may be different but we are all different people.
