I think we all can agree that this past year has been very crazy. There have been so many challenges for everyone, so it may be easy to overlook the struggles your peers are facing. Starting school in September was great. After months of not being able to see your friends and teachers we finally were back to it… well, sort of. We went into phase one ready to kick off the 2020-2021 school year. After seven months and five schedule changes, we finally were able to get back to some sense of “normality.” So, when March 29th rolled around it was exciting. It was like the first day of school all over again. All of the Seniors, Juniors, and Sophomores were ready to get back to their high school experience, but what about the Freshman?
To most people, we finally got to go back to school as close to normal as we currently can. That being said, the Freshman don’t know what “going back to school as close to normal as we currently can” means. Although everyone has had their fair share of struggles this past year, starting high school during a pandemic is tough. Simple things that don’t even cross your mind are things the Freshman have the most questions about: Where are the bathrooms? Where exactly are the commons located? There are four different lunch blocks? We have advisory every other day? Eighty minute blocks? Where do I go during managed time? There are thousands of questions going through Freshman’s minds, so it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.
Being in a big school, with a lot of people can be very intimidating. It’s even more intimidating when you start the year online. Meeting teachers and seeing classmates all through a screen for the first time, doesn’t scream “high school experience.” There’s no doubt that this has been a hard year for everyone. Seniors not really getting their final year of high school, Juniors being in the most important year of high school remote, and Sophomores having to go to school expected to know the flow, while only getting half of their Freshman year. The most important thing we can take away from this, is we should be kind and understanding to each other. We all are going through different challenges, but in the end, all of us have to go to school during a pandemic. There is no reason to have to face this year alone, we can get through it together.
