By Sarah Wetzel

Every year there is a new horde of freshmen. Freshman year brings new challenges these students have never come across. There is a bigger workload and a decrease in their free time. High school also has a bigger student body than their previous schools offered. Freshmen have many obstacles to overcome and they have to change along with them.

A bigger student body poses many problems for freshmen when they are first starting out. New surroundings are a big problem as it is, and going through multitudes of students to get to their next class is especially hard. Caitlyn Weiss (9) said, “High school is really scary. The people here are overpowering and it’s over-crowded in the hallways.”

To freshmen, upperclassmen are very intimidating in the beginning. They all know where they are going and don’t have problems getting there, but freshmen are just starting out in a brand new school with unfamiliar surroundings. “If I get lost I know I could ask the upperclassmen. They are really helpful and nice once you get over the scary-ness of them,” said Nathaniel Teselle (9).
Although our hallways are crowded and getting to classes is rather difficult, all the freshmen like the diversity North Star offers. Jaci Liddell (9) said, “All the different cultures make school fun. Other schools only have [a] little diversity, unlike North Star where I can socialize with a lot of people of different cultures.” The diversity North Star has is a definite benefit for the freshmen, but the amount of people it has is a little difficult to handle.

Freshmen begin a day earlier than the rest of the students. It’s known as Freshman Day and it always has mixed reviews. Gage Walker (9) said, “Freshman Day was exhilarating. It was really helpful, too. I got to find all my classes and I got to meet my teachers.” Although Freshman Day does help them find their classes, not everyone finds it necessary. “I didn’t like Freshman Day. I think it would be better to start on the same day as everyone else because we get used to just the freshmen being there. It doesn’t really prepare you for all the other people you will have to go through to get to your next class, which makes the school confusing all over again,” said Liddell. Freshman Day is helpful for some, but others find it a hassle.

All kinds of new sports and clubs are open to freshmen. There’s everything from football to speech. Walker said, “I’m on the freshman team for football. It’s really fun and I’m glad I joined. I’m thinking about joining debate because it seems like fun.” Clubs are a great way to get involved in high school. They offer the opportunity to meet new people who are interested in the same things they are. “I like that there are clubs in high school. The people in the clubs are probably going to like the same things I do and I’ll get along with them,” said Samuel Lubker (9). Clubs and sports are very accessible to freshmen, which makes it very easy to join them.

Every year freshmen are bombarded with harder classes and loads of homework. Some keep up with it and others start to slack off. High school is a definite change from their previous schools. “I don’t find it hard yet, but I already have a lot of homework and I assume it’ll pile up eventually. Middle school wasn’t very hard and I could pass every class with ease. I know this year I will actually have to work harder to pass my classes,” Liddell and Walker agreed. High school prepares students for college. The work teachers assign will only help in the future. Lubker said, “I don’t particularly like all the work that is associated with high school. I don’t like spending time after school to do work, but I know it’s going to benefit me in the end.” High school requires a lot out of students everyday. It occupies a lot of time, but benefits students in the end.

Freshmen go through a lot of changes when they step into high school. Their workload increases and their free time isn’t as abundant. They have to work harder to pass classes, but it’s worth it in the end. High school also opens up opportunities.
All-in-all, freshmen are in for a ride through the rest of their high school career.