Freshmen vs Senior Perspective of High School
As seniors begin to end their last days of high school, the freshman on campus have just embarked on the journey.
However freshman are just as eager to graduate as the seniors. For instance, Shaelyn Rashoff, freshmen, sees the “senior activities and graduation posters” that make her want the “in between” years of highschool to be over.
Zoie Wong, senior, sees senior activities such as “senior picnic, prom, and graduation” as fun, but she felt that “freshman year and sophomore year had to happen, and that everything that was actually fun had to wait.” Reflecting back on freshmen year, Wong “really wanted to become older as quickly as possible.”
Although seniors and freshmen are at opposite ends of the spectrum on campus, most can agree that high school is a stepping stone “to the next level,” Joe Murphy, senior, said.
However, the experiences and lessons learned during the span of four years have led students such as Wong to create “specific memories,” especially with programs such as the International Baccalaureate at school. Without the memories made in sophomore and junior year, Wong feels like she would have “definitely missed out.”
Freshmen on campus, such as Varna Kanapuram, believes she isn’t the most school spirited when it comes to football games or rallies, however Murphy believed it was his active participation in “ASG, sporting events, theatre shows, and dance concerts,” that gave him his full high school experience.
One aspect of high school that seems universal to all students was their first day of school. As a freshman, both Wong and Murphy were intimidated by how “old the seniors looked,” and how some even had beards. Corresponding to the popular belief, current freshmen Rashoff and Kanapuram felt “overwhelmed” on their first day, and thought that there were “more people than expected.”
On the other hand, when seniors are on campus, they feel “a lot more relaxed.”
“As a freshman you are intimidated by the people you see, but as a senior even if you haven’t really changed that much it feels like you were able to grow,” Wong said.
Throughout high school, having a “balance between social life, sports, academics” has allowed students to “put things into perspective and put different things into perspective has allowed (students) to grow.”
Rashoff and Kanapuram say that time management is very important to being successful in high school and both freshmen say they are good at “balancing sports with academics.”
Looking back at freshmen year, Murphy believes he has “met all (his) goals,” and while freshmen do not have any set aspirations, they hope to “do well in school” and “make a lot of memories.”
Although senior and freshmen aspirations may be different, both share similar views on how to balance school, activities, and personal life.
