Gabi Meyers had some intense expectations of how her freshman year would go. “I predicted that I would have homework every day and would need to study lots for tests,” she explained. Furthermore, she proclaimed, “I also assumed that the classes would be difficult and assignments would be hard.”

Gabi concluded that her initial thoughts were completely incorrect. The workload was maintainable and not nearly as intensive as she first thought. She summarized, “Classes were not hard at all, and I barely have homework outside of class.” Specifically, her baking and pastries elective course was really interesting and she had a lot of fun. Getting to learn how to bake is a great life skill, and is a break from the typical core subject.

Additionally, she had several positive takeaways about her experience this year. “High school is way more fun than I thought it would be,” she elaborated. Initially, she did not expect to have as much freedom as she did, but it positively affected her experience.

“I assumed that entering high school would mean more independence and more opportunities,” she explained. Getting to select your electives, participating in sports, and joining clubs are all a part of the high school experience. However, she knew that there were certain expectations that she had to follow in the classroom. Adia stated, “I knew that when I have tests, and they tell me to study, I have to do it.” She was hyperaware that the difficulty of the courses would increase.

Adia summarized that these assumptions were partially true. She concluded, “I think that high school is overall deemed scarier than it actually is. While the teachers are still hard on you, they still help to the best of their ability.” Overall, Adia felt that her idea of increased freedom and opportunities was true.

Initially, she was nervous about whether or not she would be able to achieve good grades. After succeeding during the first semester, she gained the confidence she needed to excel and finish the rest of the school year strong with straight A’s. Adia elaborated, “As long as I managed my schedule and made sure I had time to do homework, I was fine.” Specifically, Algebra I was a class she excelled in. She caught on to the concepts easily and was always able to efficiently get her work done.

Consequently, a majority of the realities that freshmen dealt with were optimistic and manageable. Freshman year is an adjustment period and is not a time filled with stress and loads of classwork. It is a time to figure out what you enjoy and what makes you happy.