Freshmen walk through the crowded halls, they can hear their hearts beating in their ears, and the bell is about to ring. 

“I’m scared of a teacher punishing me,” said Rania Khalfallah (9). “If I wasn’t aware that I did something wrong, and got a referral without knowing, scares me. My heart starts beating quickly.”                   

 “Initially they are most worried about getting lost, worried about managing academics, as well as trying to make friends,” said school counselor Madelein Doudaklian. “Figuring out how and where they fit in the school culture.” It is normal for people to develop new fears, or focus on fears when they head to a new school environment. Mrs. Doudaklian shared some advice for freshmen, “Just be themselves, yeah just be yourself, if you want to make friends or if you want to fit in.” 

 Oscar Cruz-Trochez (9) said that he gets scared when he sees his grades drop. A strategy many students have is to keep an agenda. If students keep track of their work and deadlines, then they will most likely not see their grades drop. A few ways Oscar likes to cope with his fears are in these ways,“I take deep breaths, imagine good stuff, then I face my fears.” 

Ren Flores (9) worries about, “Falling really behind on work because it’s piles of work that you need to catch up on, it can cause anxiety,” said Ren. “I freeze and have an internal panic.” 

“This year, students get overwhelmed with loads of work, since last year was a virtual year,” said 9th grade English teacher Maria Comé. Ms. Comé said that the social atmosphere was different last year because the majority of the students had to communicate through a virtual screen. “That kind of shifted the student’s ability to communicate with each other.” The advice that Ms. Comé would like to give is to, “Stay in touch with your teachers, join stuff for sure, if you think that you want to be part of a club, just go to the interest meeting. If you don’t like it you can just leave.” 

College and Career Readiness Specialist Renee Foster works with all students. Mrs. Foster welcomes all students who want to get their career started, or want to plan out their future. She likes to guide students through their career development, and help students figure out what their purpose could be.

 “I love change, growth, being different, that’s how we grow. Education is a tool we are going to use,” said Mrs. Foster. She shared one part of how she helps students dig into their passion. Mrs. Foster encourages freshmen to think about their future now, “What excites you, what is it you could do for eight hours.” Forget about where you have to go for training, how much you have to pay for your tuition.” 

“Put yourself out of your comfort zone and try something new.” said 9th grade history teacher Brody Whited. “Also, make sure you’re taking care of yourself as a person, you come first,” said Ms. Whited. “Have fun. Enjoy yourself. It may seem like a long four years, but it will be fun if you allow yourself to have fun.”