By Gavin Yeh
As a freshman freshly out of middle school, I have always wondered what it would be like to be a high school student. “This is the last step until college,” I thought to myself. It was just another 4 years of school, just like primary school. Easy.
As I walked into the school for the very first time, there were about 500 students, mostly freshmen and sophomores. My first class was in B153, and I didn’t know when to go, as there were 2 bells—8:15 and 8:20. Luckily, I went in the middle, but I didn’t know where I was going. There are so many halls connecting to each other that I ended up walking in a circle, and I was the last student to get into the classroom at around 8:29. The first two days of high school were actually fun, although I didn’t know what to do in study hall. At the end of my study hall, I always tried to check out, even if I was just walking out.
On the 3rd day, I was not expecting work. For instance, in Honors Geometry, my teacher started to assign work. Back in middle school, it was about 2 weeks until we started doing schoolwork. She also announced that we have a test next Tuesday. Although Ms. Cordano is really nice, she started teaching Algebra I to us, and it made no sense to me. Everyone else seemed to get the hang of it, and I was just sitting there blankly staring at the board. I remember doing Algebra1 last year. I was confused; first of all, why are we doing it again as a unit, and second of all, why am I not remembering my stuff from last year? After Geometry, I realized I needed to focus a lot more on my studies instead of playing video games or watching TV.
After about a week, I had the sense that I actually knew where I was going. The most boring class during that time was gym. We didn’t even do anything; we just sat there and hoped there was going to be some PE. But I guess not. I also forgot to mention that they installed a policy where you’re not allowed to use your phones. This rule wasn’t in middle school, and I thought that in high school, you would be more mature and independent. However, you are allowed to bring your backpack around, and everyone does that because the lockers are small—about a half a foot in length.
The schedule is by far my worst nightmare. It’s flipped during the second half of lunch. Although the bells are okay, I hate it because I never know what class I have next, and I still don’t remember what class is next after a month. Every time, I have to pull out my binder and flip to the page where I printed out my schedule. Finally, at the end of the school day, the bus is the same way I get to school and the way back. On my way to school, my bus is really nice and chilly. However, the bus on the way back to my house leaves at 3:07, and what happens if I’m on the other side of the school in the gym and I almost miss it?
It’s really hard for my first year of high school, but nonetheless, I think I can push through it.
