Being a freshman is probably one of the biggest and hardest changes for someone. Before going into high school, I thought the craziest things and heard the craziest stories. One of the biggest things I struggle with is having a good memory. I was nervous about getting lost going from class to class. I went to orientation at Rochester and walked my schedule over and over, yet I still couldn’t remember my way around. Another thing I was nervous about was trying to meet new friends. I went to West Middle School and our school splits up into two; half goes to Adams and half goes to Rochester. Most of my friends sadly went to Adams, so I knew the first day I had to at least meet one person in every one of my classes. The last thing I was nervous about before going into high school was upperclassmen. Being a freshman is hard because you are at the bottom of the school and all upperclassmen dislike you for many reasons. The biggest rumor I heard was Freshman Friday. Freshman Friday is supposedly where seniors beat up on freshman on Fridays, which, by the way, is completely untrue.

My first day of high school wasn’t as bad as I expected. Walking into high school on the first day I had many thoughts going through  my head. The biggest thing that I could not stop thinking about was getting lost. Walking my classes with unlimited time and no “traffic” was hard enough, but doing it with only six minutes and lots of people was a whole different story. By the end of day, finding my classes wasn’t even the hardest thing for me. In my first hour I met a girl named Grace who I found out was in my first three hours. One of her friends is a sophomore who I play volleyball with, and she helped Grace and I find our first three classes. The hardest class for me to find was my fourth hour. I had to go from lunch in the mall to the upstairs, and having as small of a memory as I do, that was impossible. When I finally found my way up stairs, I walked into my class and realized that this class was not just a freshman class, but all four grades. I walked into that class knowing absolutely nobody, so I sat alone in the back. A super nice sophomore named Bianca invited me to sit next to her. As soon as the bell rang I was out of there in less than two seconds. As of the first day all of my teachers seemed very nice and funny. Even though it was only the first day and I didn’t know much about them or their teaching styles, they all seemed pretty helpful.

Through my first month in high school I have picked up on a few things. The biggest thing I have learned so far is about walking in the hallway. Upperclassmen hate it when freshmen don’t walk on the right side of the hallway, walk really slow or stop to talk to friends in the middle of the hallway. Another thing I have learned so far is grades matter a lot. Starting off freshman year, it’s good to keep a high GPA, because each year classes will get harder and harder. The most helpful things to me right now to getting good grades is to do more then what is expected, stay on topic, and don’t wait until the last day to do something.  

I am very excited for what the rest of my four years in high school will bring me. Right now, the biggest thing that I’m excited for is homecoming. I can’t wait for homecoming week because Rochester has so much spirit and everyone is so passionate about dressing up. I’m also excited for homecoming day to dress up and have a good time with my friends. Another thing I can’t wait for is being a senior. I’m excited to drive myself to school, go out to lunch, and be “on top” of the school.